My New Life
by Mythical Words
Summary: Elly is a scared girl with a bad past who happens to be related to Sam and Embry. Boys, and people in general, scare Elly and her big brothers and Collin, who imprinted on her, are scaring her. Can Brady, who should in no way be important to her, help?
1. Thanks for Your Help

**Chapter 1: Thanks For Your Help**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N: Just to clear it up- the pack is sort of one again, Jake and Sam switch off with being the Alpha. Right now (in the story) Jake is on vacation with the Cullens and "his" pack is in La Push with Sam, except for Leah, who left to go to college and doesn't really phase much anymore. **

_**Elly's Point of View**_

I watched as the woman put my tiny bag down next to me and got back into the car. She had the look of someone who had once cared a great deal, but had seen so many horrible things that she didn't care anymore.

"Your dad's name is Joe Uley. Bye," She said it as quickly as possible and drove off, going faster than the speed limit allowed.

Which left me on the side of the main road of the La Push Quiluete reservation with no money, food, or clue as to where I was supposed to go. The orphanage that I had spent my entire life in was closed and I was the only kid that hadn't been able to find a home or another orphanage to take me in.

So, after a lot of searching, the people who were supposed to be taking care of me until I turned eighteen discovered who my dad was and dropped me off in the town of his supposed residence.

I spotted a store that was open and walked in, my feather light bag in one hand. There was a huge boy sitting at the counter. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. He had the typical brown-tan skin and black hair, but he was really tall and... big. He must have been on steroids or something.

"Um... excuse me?" I said in a tiny voice.

He looked up and I flinched. I could feel his gaze on me. I knew I was beautiful, or as beautiful as any starved and abused girl can be.

My hair was Native American glossy black, but it fell in soft curls down my shoulders. My russet skin was perfect, the bruises and scars hidden by my clothes. My body was really skinny, but still full of curves that I despised. I hunched my shoulders forward and hid behind my hair as I whispered, "Do you know where I can find Joe Uley?"  
"The Uleys live a couple minutes walk from here, but I don't know any Joe," the boy told me, his eyes still on me.

I mumbled a thanks and practically ran out the door. I sank onto a bench and curled up in a ball. Tears fell down my face.

It started to rain. I had nowhere to go and no umbrella or rain jacket. My baggy, ragged, and thin clothes clung to me, absolutely soaked. They were probably emphasizing my figure.

It got dark out and I guessed that it was getting late. The boy came out of the store, locking the door behind him. He saw me and frowned, walking over.

I shuddered and pulled myself into a tighter ball. I'd had too many bigger, stronger boys at the orphanage try to get alone with me. I'd had too many drunk or cruel matrons slap and hit me.

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" he asked in that deep voice that sent shivers up my spine. I'm not talking about the kind of shivers that come when you like someone, but the kind that come because you're afraid. I shook my head the tiniest bit. "I can take you to the Uley's, that's what you want."

I looked up at him from beneath my soaked, but still curly hair. He didn't seem like he wanted to hurt me. And it wasn't like I could stay out in the pouring rain forever.

"Sure," I said it so quietly he probably only barely heard me.

He gestured for me to follow him. I picked up the tiny bag that contained little more than air and followed him.

I stayed a short ways behind him the entire way to the small, cozy-looking house. He opened the door and gestured for me to come in. I walked just far enough in so that the door shut.

My eyes widened and I tried to disappear into the shadows as I saw the occupants of the house. The room was filled with nearly a dozen or so huge, shirtless, and rowdy boys. There were a few girls, each with one of the boys as if they couldn't bear to be separated. I shrank back even further as one of them let out a huge laugh.

"SAM!" the boy next to me bellowed.

I winced. A man, no longer a boy, came forward. Like all the other, he was very, very tall and very, very muscular.

"This girl said she's looking for Joe Uley," the boy next to me said respectfully.

So quickly that it seemed unnatural, silence fell. Everyone looked at me and I wished they wouldn't. I could feel boys' eyes running up and down my figure, clearly visible with my soaked and thin clothes sticking to me.

"No one here is named Joe Uley," the man said in an authoratative voice, "Why do you ask?"

"He's my father," I said it in a voice softer than a whisper and even then it was hard to get out of my mouth.

"He doesn't exist."

I paled. I was practically dead. Might as well kill myself now. Nowhere to stay, no money, no food, no clothes, no identification. I reached into my pocket and took out the paper that had stayed dry inside its plastic sheath.

"Isn't there somewhere else you can go?" the man asked.

"No," my voice trembled as I stared at the paper.

The boy next to me reached out and I closed my eyes as I turned away my head. I couldn't get any further away from him without opening the door. But he didn't touch me. He just took the paper. He read it quickly then gaped at the man.

"This says... this says that her dad is Joshua Uley, proven by DNA tests, and that she has two half-siblings. Both are his children. They're names are Sam Uley and..." he trailed off, "me."

_**Embry's Point of View**_

I walked out of the store, closing up behind me. Curled up in a huddle on a nearby bench was the girl who had asked for Joe Uley. She was soaked and shivering.

My upbringing got the better of me and I walked over to her. As I approached, she shuddered and tucked herself into a tighter ball.

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" I asked.

The girl shook her head and hugged herself, looking absolutely terrified. I offered to take her to the Uleys' and her one worded consent was so quiet that I almost missed it, even with my supernatural hearing.

I lead her down the road to Sam and Emily's house and she crept along a fair distance behind me. She kept looking at me as if waiting for me to hurt her in someway or another. When we got to the house I gestured for her to come in, but she only came in far enough so that I could close the door.

Everyone in the pack was there. Paul looked at the girl then raised his eyebrows at me, probably wondering if I had brought a pretty imprint along with me.

I shook my head as she tried to vanish into the shadows. When I called for Sam she winced and shrunk even further away from me. I explained to Sam that she was looking for someone named Joe Uley. I wondered if she meant Joshua Uley, Sam's dad.

No one was talking anymore. They were all watching the petrified mouse of a girl.

"No one here is named Joe Uley. Why do you ask?" Sam said in a voice that made the girl beside me cower.

I wanted to tell Sam to relax, he was freaking her out, but I got the feeling that I was freaking her out just as much as he was. And that saying anything in her defense would make it worse.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't imprint on her. I knew what imprinting felt like, thanks to having to listen to the thoughts of those that had, so I knew that this was different. I felt more like she was my younger sister or something. All in all, it was really weird.

She stuttered out something about Joe Uley being her father.

"He doesn't exist," Sam said.

The girl turned bone white, something I hadn't even thought was possible for someone with russet brown skin. Her trembling hand reached into her pocked and took out a plastic-encased paper. I could only read the biggest words on the page. They said something about the findings of a search for Elena's family. Was the girl beside me Elena?

"Isn't there somewhere else you can go?" Sam asked.

"No," her voice was so weak and hopeless that it pulled at my heart.

I reached out to take the paper and her entire body flinched away from me, her eyes closing and her head turning in the opposite direction. Like she was expecting some sort of abuse. That made me mad. But I read the paper. And then I read it again. And again.

"This says... this says that her dad is Joshua Uley, proven by DNA tests, and that she has two half siblings. Both are his children. Their names are Sam Uley and..." Sam was unsurprised, he already knew who his dad was and his dad hadn't exactly been a great dad, "me."

The girl standing next to me was my half-sister. Sam was my half-brother. Oh man.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

I slipped outside, unable to bear being around so many huge people any longer. My experience with other human beings hadn't been exactly happy.

There was only one person in the world who I actually liked. Only one person I would miss if I was the only one left on the planet.

I waited for something to happen, for someone to tell me something, as the rain made my curls even wetter. I didn't have to wait long. The boy who was one of my half-brothers emerged form the house and spotted me immediately.

"I'll take you to my house. You can stay in the guest room 'till we figure this out." That made me shudder. "I'm Embry Call." He added as a sort of after thought.

"Elly," I breathed.

I guess my name was technically Elena Uley, but if someone called out that name I wouldn't know who they were talking to.

The boy, Embry, walked over to a truck and opened one of the doors. He gestured for me to get in, so I slipped in, my soaked and empty bag in hand.

The only thing in it was a plastic-encased sheaf of papers. They held meaningless mumbo-jumbo. Stuff that had been found out about me when the orphanage had looked for any relatives of mine.

I sat as far away from him as possible, practically smashing myself into the door. It only took two minutes to get to his house, but it felt like two hours.

He didn't say anything and from the deep in thought expression on his face I guessed that he hadn't known who his dad was.

Embry showed me around the small house and pointed out the bathroom, his room, him mom's room, and the guest room.

I tenatively sat my bag down as he grabbed a towel out of a closet and handed it to me. I really didn't want to stay- let alone sleep- in a stranger's house, even if the stranger was my half-brother.

Us being related wouldn't stop him from hurting me. There was no 'if' in my mind. Everyone I'd ever known had hurt me in one way or another.

Except one person. But it was best not to think about him.

I went into the bathroom and did everything I could think of to avoid looking in the mirror or at my naked body. I used the toilet, washed my hands, washed my face (the rain had pretty much already taken care of that) and dried my hair with the towel. There was nothing I could do about my sopping clothes.

Finally, I had no choice but to look. I wanted to break the stupid thing. It showed a beautiful, breathtaking, scared, teenage girl. A girl with fine, but strong bones, large eyes, long and curly lashes, and lots of flowing, black hair.

I threw on the soaked clothes and walked very quickly out of the bathroom, literally running into Embry. He had in his hands an old, long-sleeve t-shirt and pants.

I jumped backwards and slammed into the wall. It was an automatic reaction to having another body that close to mine. Embry reached out to touch me, but stop when I shuddered and pressed myself into the wall.

_**Embry's Point of View**_

I was standing outside the bathroom with some clothes of my mom's that I thought might fit Elly, when she came rushing out. She looked like she was running from something- except no one was in the bathroom- and didn't notice me until she ran into me.

She jumped backwards and hit the wall with a painful thud. I thought she was just surprised by the heat of my skin so I reached out to make sure she was okay. Elly's entire body shuddered and she tried to flatten herself into the wall. I quickly pulled back and handed her the clothes.

"I hope they fit," I said. My mom was a lot less skinny than this girl.

I told her to put the soaked clothes she had on in the bathroom tub. Mom would put them in the washer when she got home.

When she got home I had a lot of explaining to do. I thought that Mom might be happy to help Elly, she did a lot of charity stuff, but I wasn't one hundred percent sure.

Elly muttered something that sounded vaguely like "thanks" and all but ran into the guest room. I frowned. What kind of past had she had, to make her act this way?

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Embry pulled away from me and handed me the clothes. I didn't listen to what he said, something about hoping they fitted, and hurried into the room that I was borrowing for the night.

I put on the clothes, placing the wet ones in the bathroom tub like Embry told me too. The clothes that he had lent me were too big, but that was okay. At least they were long.

If I wore a short sleeve shirt or shorts, everyone would be able to clearly see the scars and bruises of my past. I couldn't deal with that.

I stared at the bed. It was small, just a one person bed. I had closed the door tightly behind me, but I still didn't feel safe enough to sleep. I had never felt safe enough to truly sleep. Well, almost never.

There had been a few months a long time ago during which I had felt safe. But I never thought about that slightly happier time.

I slipped in between the sheets. I closed my eyes. Sleep didn't come. But a sort of half-unconsciousness did overtake me.

When I was fully conscious and alert again, I slipped out of the bed and made it, leaving almost no trace of my stay. I didn't have any other clothes, besides the ones that were soaked, so I just went into the bathroom and washed my face.

It was the most I could do. Without a hairbrush and hair-ties, there was nothing to be done about my glossy curls and no toothbrush made it impossible to brush my teeth.

As I crept into the kitchen- I didn't want to disturb anyone- I caught a glimpse of a clock. It was six in the morning.

On the kitchen counter I discovered a note written in elegant script.

Embry-

I won't be back until late tonight. You had better be asleep in your bed when I do get back. Tell your half-sister – Elly, right? - that she is welcome to stay here as long as she likes. Maybe you can find some more of my clothes that might fit her? Also, no eating the cheddar cheese in the fridge.

Mom

I was allowed to stay here as long as I liked? Were they planning to do something horrible to me? No. I didn't believe that. Every time I'd ever... gotten hurt... had been because I'd been handy. Convenient. In the wrong place at the wrong time.

I sat, perched really, on a stool and waited.

I kept doing this. Waiting for someone else to do something.

But Embry had said something about figuring stuff out and I figured missing the planning of my future would be bad.

After about an hour of waiting there was a really loud noise that sounded like a giant pig snuffing around the house.

I wasn't scared- I was really only scared of humans- so I headed in the direction the noise had come from. I was just outside Embry's room when I heard it again. Coming from inside his room.

Embry was snoring. I put my hand over my mouth as I smiled. Smiling at someone else's expense was a dangerous thing. It got me many bruises until I learned not to.

I went back to the kitchen and spent a good deal of the next half an hour trying not to think about the tricky situation I was in.

What finally woke Embry up- at around seven forty-five- was the phone ringing. There was no way I was going to answer it so it kept going off until Embry's stumbled out of his room and picked it up.

"Hello?" He grumbled in a voice that was slurred from sleep, "Yeah. We're coming."

He hung up muttering something about alphas and adding a few not-so-nice swear words.

I flinched and he seemed to notice me for the first time that morning. He ran his hands through his short hair and walked closer.

I cowered away from his enormous frame as his hand shot out. But he just picked up the note from his mom and dragged himself to his room. When he came out of the bathroom five minutes later he looked much refreshed.

He looked at my sleep crumpled outfit and handed me my clothes from the day before. They were dry and clean. I went into the bathroom and changed quickly into my dull gray long sleeve shirt and baggy, colorless jeans.

_**Embry's Point of View**_

_Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring. _The phone rang as I cracked one eyelid.

My mom had probably already left and if Elly was already up she wouldn't answer the phone.

_Ring, ring, ring. _The phone insisted.

I had to get up. I shoved myself from my bed and stumbled- werewolves don't stumble, but I still managed it- to the phone.

I answered it sleepily, still not fully awake. Sam's wonderful voice greeted me telling me to get my butt and Elly's over there. Emily had cooked breakfast and he couldn't wait around for the two of us all day.

I hoped Elly, who was sitting at a counter stool, couldn't hear him.

I assured him that we were on our way (a lie) and then hung up, grumbling about alphas.

Elly flinched when I grumbled a swear word and I walked closer to her. I grabbed the note that was in front of her, noticing once again how she cowered and flinched away from me, and stomped back to my room.

The note was from Mom, telling me Elly could stay, to find Elly some more clothes, she (mom) wouldn't be home until late and I was to be here in time for curfew, and not to eat the cheese. I dressed, even adding a t-shirt to my ensemble even though it was summer, because I didn't want to make Elly even more nervous.

I didn't have time to sort out the protective, elder brotherly feelings I had for a sister I had only just met.

I gave Elly her clothes that my mom had cleaned and then took her to Sam's.

**A/N: What do you think? Just remember that person Elly keeps referring to. The "he" who made her feel safe and let her sleep, the only person in the world that she would miss. He becomes important. **


	2. It's Not Nothing

**Chapter 2: It's Not Nothing**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. **

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Embry took me back to the house we'd gone to the night before. As we walked up to it I could hear the sounds of a bunch of people inside. Everyone who'd been there the night before was there again.

A woman who was half-covered in scars- Embry warned me not to stare and I didn't because I knew how it felt to have people stare at you- served a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and orange juice.

She introduced herself as Emily and told me she was married to the man who seemed to be in charge, Sam, also known as my other half-brother.

When she realized how terrified I was with all the huge boys (I actually wasn't scared of her, she was just too nice for me to be afraid) she set me a place at the counter, off to one side and away from the hubbub of the table.

I bet everyone in that room saw how frightened I was, it wasn't hard to see because I was shrinking into the non-existent shadows and cringing away from any- and every-one.

Emily set a plate full of food down in front of me. The plate was covered in food, but it was a tiny amount compared to what all the boys were shoving down their throats. I was amazed at the amount of food that was consumed and amazed that there was so much for me.

"This is all for me?" I whispered, meaning the food.

"You don't have to eat it," she was quick to assure me.

I stared at the enormous amount of food before picking up a fork and taking a big bite. The food hit my completely empty belly- because of my nerves, I hadn't been able to eat anything for several days- and I nearly threw up.

I pressed both my hands over my mouth. If I opened it to ask where the bathroom was, I'd vomit. If I kept my mouth closed I would only vomit later instead of sooner.

My half-brother, Sam, seemed to notice my queasiness, because he pointed out the way to the bathroom where I threw up the mouthful of eggs and all the water that I'd drunk at Embry's house.

By the time I felt well enough to come out again, breakfast was over. Emily was concerned, wanting to know what was wrong and if I was allergic to eggs or something.

"I just haven't eaten anything for a couple days," I murmured as quietly as possible.

The boys had quieted down a bit and were spread out around the small living room and kitchen, all looking like they were considering a nap.

"Why did you come to La Push to look for your dad?" Sam asked me, bluntly.

"I didn't. The orphanage shut down and I was the only one left. They brought me here," I said as quietly and quickly as I could.

Sam and Embry looked like they were deep in thought and no one spoke for several minutes.

The silence was broken when Emily asked me, "Could you pass me the cup with the rose on it, over your head?"

I reached up to get it and my sleeve fell down, revealing my blue and purple arm. Suddenly everyone was upright and alert. I yanked my sleeve back into place.

_**Embry's Point of View**_

I joked around with the rest of the pack as we ate breakfast, but I still noticed when Elly rushed off to the bathroom, looking sick. She stayed in the bathroom long enough for everyone to finish breakfast and sprawl across the living room.

When she came out again Emily wanted to know what was wrong. I walked into the kitchen, knowing that I was a necessary part of the conversation to come.

"I just haven't eaten anything for a couple days," Elly said, her hair swinging forward to hide her face.

"Why did you come to La Push to look for your dad?" Sam asked.

"I didn't," Elly said as I listened with a considerable amount of curiosity, "The orphanage shut down and I was the only one left. They brought me here."

I remembered yesterday when she had come in asking for Joe Uley. They hadn't even told her the right name!

It took a lot of will power to keep from shifting into a wolf right there. Emily asked Elly to pass her a cup from a shelf above her head. Elly reached up to get it and her sleeve fell back. It revealed an arm covered in old and new bruises and scars.

I started shaking with fury. And then I saw Elly's terrified face. I couldn't hurt my little sister. I needed to calm down.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Sam swiftly walked over to me and I tried to back up only to be stopped by the counter behind me. Sam reached his hand out for my arm and I started to shake. It wasn't a slight tremble, it was a very noticeable, out of my mind with terror, shaking.

He quickly moved away from me and I relaxed slightly.

"Why- how- your arm..." Someone said. I didn't see who was speaking because I was looking at my feet.

"I f-fell. It's n-n-nothing," I stuttered completely out of breath, still trembling.

Everyone was staring at me as if I was the victim of some horrible crime. I wasn't. I just repeatedly caught the attention of the restless boys in the orphanage.

I hid behind my hair and pressed myself into the counter, wanting to get away from this place. From these people. From people period.

Obviously realizing that this was a subject to be left alone, Sam said, "You can stay with Embry, if you would like to. I'll see what kind of legal stuff it will take to make your stay here lawful. You can go to school when it starts in a week. Do you have anything that you brought with you?"

I shook my head no.

"I'll take you shopping for some clothes and other necessities, then," Emily said.

"Mom's fine with her staying," Embry chimed in.

I watched wide-eyed. What were they doing? Were they really helping me? No one- almost no one- had ever helped me.

When everyone except Emily had left- Sam and Embry had had other things that needed attending to and so had left me with Emily- Emily struck up a conversation.

"Why don't I make you some broth, something that will stay in your belly and then we can go get you some things?"

"Why are y-you doing this for m-me?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"Because you need help and you're my half-sister in-law," Emily proceeded to make me some delicious broth that I didn't throw up, talking all the while.

She told me funny stories about the people she seemed to consider her family. Among them were Embry, and all the boys and girls who so often frequented her house.

I was surprised to find myself chuckling when she finished telling a story about how, at Emily's niece's third birthday party, one of the boys named Quil had gotten to be Barbie- the three year old, Claire, had tried her play-makeup on him.

When Emily was done in the kitchen she drove me to the closest place with stores, Port Angeles. I expected shopping for clothes to be extremely awkward but it wasn't.

Emily helped me find my size in stuff and then she helped me to pick up stuff I liked. I saw her notice how I only chose dull colors and baggy clothes. Nothing to catch anyone's eye. On the way back to the house Emily explained that everyone was going to be at her and Sam's house again for dinner.

When we got back Emily led me to a small guest room, "Why don't you take a nap? You don't look like you slept well."

Right before she left the room I whispered, "Thank you, Emily."

She looked around, surprised, and I realized that I didn't usually speak unless forced to.

"Your welcome," She smiled and went into the kitchen.

I lay down in the bed and closed my eyes, but didn't sleep. I drifted in and out of awareness until I heard voices in the kitchen. I opened my eyes and listened.

"Sam, she never speaks, she wouldn't touch anything that didn't have long legs or sleeves and dull colors. The one time she tried on something that wasn't baggy, she immediately took it off. Those bruises on her arm... Wherever she's been, whatever she is, she isn't fine. She's a mess. I was telling her a funny story that usually makes people laugh so hard they cry, but she merely chuckled. And when she heard her own chuckle she stopped, looking horrified. Sam, the orphanage where she grew up, I can't imagine how horrible a place it must be to make her like this. We have to help her." Emily sounded close to tears.

She was talking about me. She couldn't possibly know that I was listening, so she couldn't be acting to get me to trust her. That was way to complex. No. Emily honestly wanted to help me. Emily was a good person.

I felt a shock resonate throughout my body. I _trusted _Emily. I had only known her for maybe twenty-four hours and I trusted her. I was even more shocked by what I heard next.

"I talked to some people today. Apparently, since I'm the only adult willing to care for her, I'm her official guardian. There are a few papers and things that I need to sign, but its not a big deal. She'll live here or at Embry's," Sam said.

"Embry's. She's not at all comfortable around men. And you and all the other boys are huge. She can come here whenever she wants, but Embry's house is much quieter. And despite constantly grounding him, Embry's mom is a nice woman," Emily said firmly.

"The boys will be here in a few minutes." Sam said and the conversation was over. I stood up and looked down at myself. I didn't bother to try and do anything to my hair, it hadn't even been mussed by my time laying on the bed. I opened the bedroom door and stepped out.

"Elly!" Emily cried and welcomed me into her kitchen. She motioned to a stool that sat at the counter, obviously meant for me, and then asked, "Do you think you can manage some toast or do you want some more of the broth?"

"I'll have toast," I whispered.

Then I saw the food she had prepared. Pounds and pounds of hot dogs and hamburgers. Big bowls of potato salad. Large pans of fries. And what seemed to be an endless amount of brownies. How many people were coming?

"The boys eat a lot. You'll see," Emily just laughed at the expression of wonder on my face and then stopped when I kept staring.

My entire life I'd gone hungry, eating barely any food, and the little I did eat was never good food, and here was more food than I'd even imagined to be eaten for one meal. I was jarred from my disbelief by a voice.

"Hey, Elly," Embry had arrived.

I didn't look at him, letting my hair swing in front of my face as I moved as far away from the food as possible.

I could hear Embry whispering to Emily, "What's wrong with the food?"

"I think... she grew up hungry," Emily whispered back.

"Emily! That smells fantastic. I'm starving," a female voice said and I jumped.

Only I didn't jump, I fell. But I didn't hit the ground. Embry caught me. I shuddered, shivered, and trembled, trying to get away from him.

He quickly set me down and I pressed myself into the counter. Tears ran down my face as they always did when someone got to close.

"What's with her?" a deep voice asked. I slid to the ground and curled up into a ball.

"Paul, shut up. She looks scared," the female voice said.

"Elly, it's okay. Embry didn't mean to frighten you. He just didn't want you to fall. It's only Paul and Rachel. I told you about them, remember? It's okay. There isn't anything to be afraid of," Emily murmured as she squatted down in front of me.

She was careful not to get too close and not to touch me. I nodded my head slightly. And shuddered. But my trembling eased.

Emily talked me into sitting back on the stool, never forcing me, always easing, calming, and coaxing.

When I was back on the stool, hidden behind my hair again, Emily performed introductions.

"Elly, this is Paul," another huge boy, "and Rachel," a pretty girl who looked to be about Sam's age who was holding Paul's hand. I didn't know how she could bear to be so close to him. Emily continued with a smile as I realized that Embry and Sam were nowhere to be seen, "This is Elly, Sam and Embry's half-sister."

"Hey," Rachel said.

"Hi," Paul said before walking over to the brownies and starting to eat one.

"No. Wait until everyone else is here. Shoo," Emily scolded. When the two of them were sitting down in the living room Emily came over to me, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, not being able to speak.

"Just a little scared?"

I nodded again.

Then more people began to arrive. Emily stayed by my side, introducing me.

First came a boy named Jared and a girl named Kim. Then two boys named Brady and Collin. Then a boy named Seth. The last two to arrive were the boy named Quil and Emily's four-year-old niece, Claire.

Claire tried to run up to me and hug me, but Emily stopped her. I was glad. I knew that Claire wouldn't hurt me and in my mind I wasn't afraid of her touch, but whenever someone touched me I acted on instinct and my logical mind was no longer in charge.

Just before Emily served dinner, Sam and Embry reappeared. Everyone except me, Emily, and Sam, who seemed to need to be where ever Emily was, ate at the table.

I ate at the counter, Emily and Sam beside me, but not too close. I managed to eat half a piece of toast before I looked over at the people at the table. I couldn't eat any more after that.

They were all eating more food than the entire orphanage got in a month. And they were acting like having this much food was completely normal.

I pushed my food away. Emily watched with concerned eyes, but I just tried to fade into the nonexistent shadows. That's when I noticed a boy staring at me. He was either Collin or Brady, I didn't know which.

His gaze made me more than a little uncomfortable. He was looking at me like I was the most beautiful thing in the world. He only looked away from me when Embry struck up a conversation with him.

_**Embry's Point of View**_

"Hey, Elly," I said as I walked in.

Elly sat at the counter on a stool, her curls hiding her face from view. I'd figured out that she did that when she was trying to hide. And she was edging away from the mounds of delicious food, "What's wrong with the food?"

Emily whispered back that she thought that Elly had grown up hungry.

Rachel walked in, hand-in-hand with Paul and said, "Emily! That smells fantastic. I'm starving."

Elly jumped and nearly crashed into the ground.

Without thinking, I moved so I caught her before she landed. Elly shivered and trembled so hard it looked like she was about to phase.

I set her down and moved away as fast as I could. Tears ran down her eyes as she tried to push herself further into the counter.

Paul said something and Elly curled up into a tiny ball. A fourteen year old girl shouldn't have been able to make herself that small. It wasn't natural or healthy.

Rachel told Paul to shut up (always a good idea for Paul) and Emily worked her magic on Elly. Keeping a reasonable distance between her and Elly, Emily coaxed Elly into relaxing a little and sitting on the stool again.

I started to shake. I had to get out of there before I phased in front of my already terrified sister. Sam followed me. It took me a long time to calm down. I hadn't, after all, been trying to do anything other than help her.

I went back inside with Sam when I was sure that I wouldn't phase.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Embry took me back to his house and explained on the way that school would start next week. Sam had already signed me up.

I only nodded. I couldn't bear being so close to him. His truck wasn't that big and there wasn't really another option.

I spent another night of half-sleeping in the guest room. When I got out of bed the next morning it was about seven o'clock.

I crept out of the room, once again leaving as little trace that I'd been there as possible. This time, though, I found Embry's mom in the kitchen. She seemed nice enough, she certainly didn't emit the same friendly aura as Emily, but Emily was probably one of a kind.

I hovered at the edge of the kitchen until she noticed me.

"Oh, hello. You must be Elly. I'm so glad that you could stay with us," She said with a vivid smile that surprised me.

"Thanks... for everything," I said, quietly as usual.

"Not a problem. You've been wonderful. Actually getting Embry to be responsible for once!" she sighed.

I didn't understand. How had me coming here made Embry responsible? These people didn't make any sense. They were nothing like the people I knew at the orphanage.

It had always been blatantly obvious what those people had wanted with me, but everyone here was different.

Embry's bedroom door slammed open and I started. I cringed away from him, remembering last night when he had caught me in his arms.

"Hey, Elly. Hey, Mom," Embry yawned, looking like he was still tired.

"I'll be home for dinner, but I've got to run. Bye, Elly!" Embry's mom smiled at me and rushed out the door.

I heard her car start up and the sound of tires against pavement as she drove away.

"I'm taking you to Sam and Emily's for breakfast and then we're going to wherever it is that you have to go to get those documents signed," he yawned again.

I padded softly back to the guest room and changed into an outfit that Emily had so kindly bought me. Like the other clothes that I had chosen, the shirt was a faded, washed out color and it was baggy and it didn't drape. The jeans were pale, baggy, and unremarkable.

I ran a brush threw my hair, just enough to get the tangles out, because if I brushed it too long it looked stunning and I didn't want that.

Even though I now trusted Emily and kind of trusted Sam and Embry, I didn't trust the others. They were human, after all. And I'd had more than enough experience with humans.

Embry once again drove us to Sam and Emily's, only this morning there was only two boys eating breakfast with my half-family (Sam, Emily, and Embry) and me.

They were Collin and Brady and I still didn't know which was which. One of them- the same one as last night- looked at me more than was normal, but he kept up a teasing banter with the other boy. They traded insults, jokes, and laughter back and forth as if they were either the best friends in the world or the best brothers in the world.

I watched them, amazed, at how happy and carefree they seemed. The two of them were just as overlarge for their age as all the other boys who hung out at Sam and Emily's so I kept my distance, just as I did with everyone except maybe Emily. I couldn't bear even her touching me.

When breakfast was done Sam took me to some legal office or something in Port Angeles and signed a bunch of documents. Those documents made it official. He was my guardian. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but Emily signed the documents as well, so she was my other guardian.

It was raining again as we headed back to La Push. It was always raining. Even though it was something I'd never really considered, I loved the rain. In my life, there wasn't really room for anything as trivial as that. Or there hadn't been room. I didn't know which it was, anymore. I didn't know who I was.

The next couple days I spent with Emily. Embry, Sam and the rest of the group of boys and a few girls popped in and out.

I loved the time that I was alone with Emily. She started teaching me how to cook and garden and do the laundry. Mundane things that I'd never done before.

Emily made me feel safer and happier and she knew not to touch me or come too close. Emily was the best person that had ever happened to me. Almost. I could never quite forget him, no matter how hard I tried.

**A/N: Aah. The mysterious "him" appears again. So, what do you think? Review!**


	3. School Is Not For Me

**Chapter 3: School Is Not For Me**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.**

La Push high school started on a Wednesday and the Tuesday before it started I found myself all alone at Emily and Sam's.

Emily had a doctor appointment, Sam was working, and Embry was busy with whatever it was that he so often disappeared to do. I spent an hour or two sitting at my usual stool at the counter, reading a book that Emily had given me.

"Emily?" a loud voice called out from the doorway, causing me to jump off the stool and land on my bruised butt.

The boy, his name was either Brady or Collin, walked into the kitchen and spotted me. I was sitting on the floor, curled into a little ball, pressing myself into the cabinets behind me.

"Do you know where Emily is?" his voice was softer, kinder, and his eyes kept flicking between my face and the floor.

I just stared at him.

"I'm Collin, one of Sam's friends," he reminded me.

"A-at the d-doc-doctor's," I whispered.

"Thanks," Collin said as he walked back out the door, looking over his shoulder at me.

He had been the boy who, on my second night, had kept staring at me. I shivered, knowing I didn't trust him, or any of Sam or Embry's other friends.

Embry didn't show up for dinner that night. I'd noticed that most of the time, one of them was absent; they were almost never all there. So, Collin drove me to Embry's house, because it was too far for me to walk.

I spent the entire ride trying to become a chameleon. He dropped me off and I went into my room, changing into pj's and preparing for sleep.

Sleep came easier, I felt safer. I still didn't sleep as well or feel as safe as I had when he had been around. But that was different. And that was the past.

_**Embry's Point of View**_

Mom was away on a business trip, so I didn't have to worry about being caught as I walked through the front door. I had been on patrol since lunch and I was exhausted.

It was a little past midnight, so I expected Elly to be asleep in the guest room- her room now. But her door was open. She never left it open when she was in there.

I looked in and found a sleeping Elly on the bed. That was odd. Elly didn't feel safe enough to sleep with the door open. Then I saw Collin standing over Elly, his face sad. He had kept away from Elly as much as possible, which was really hard on him.

"What are you doing?" I hissed in a voice that Elly wouldn't be able to hear.

"She doesn't trust me," His voice contained infinite sadness which would have made me feel sorry for him, except he had imprinted on my little sister.

"She doesn't trust anyone," I replied, saddened by the thought, though it wasn't entirely true.

Elly trusted Emily and maybe just maybe trusted me and Sam a tiny bit. But this aside, Collin wasn't going to watch Elly sleep.

"Now, get out." I grabbed him and dragged him, silently, to the door and threw him into the night. I closed Elly's door and crashed on my bed.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

I'd never been to a public school before, and I didn't like it. Embry was a junior and I was a freshman, so he couldn't help me out. I went into the front office first.

"Hello, Mrs. Cluptin," Embry said to the woman at the desk, "This is my half-sister, Elly. It's her first day here."

"Hello, Elly. It's a pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Cluptin said with a smile as she handed me my schedule and a map.

I was glad that her position behind the desk didn't allow her to shake my hand. Dealing with someone touching me as well as going to school for the first time ever wasn't possible for me.

I didn't reply at all.

Embry showed me to my first class and told me that Collin and Brady would help me out the rest of the day.

Everyone stared at me. This place was so small that one new person was a phenomena. I hated the way their eyes followed me wherever I went. I tried to hide in the shadows, but the harsh lights the school had didn't leave many shadows.  
Collin was in a few of my classes and Brady was in almost all of my classes.

One of my biggest problems was speaking up when a teacher asked me a question. Another was when someone introduced themselves to me. If they were polite, they held their hand out to be shook. I always shuddered and moved backwards when that happened. By lunch, I was a wreck.

"You okay, Elly?" Embry asked.

As was my custom, I sat at the far end of the table while Embry and his friends (the boys who were so often at Sam and Emily's) sat in the middle. Every now and then one of them, usually Collin, Brady, or Embry, sent a concerned look my way.

I nodded, even though I wasn't okay.

My last class was the only one in which I didn't know anybody. Meaning neither Collin or Brady was in it.

Afterwords, on my way back to my locker, I got lost. I somehow managed to end up in a completely empty, dead-end corridor. I heard footsteps behind me and whirled around.

Behind me was a boy I didn't know. He wasn't one of the boys who hung around Emily's. I backed up into a locker, hitting it with a loud bang.

"Hey, gorgeous," the boy said, coming closer.

He put his hands around my waist and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I shuddered and cowered away, tears leaking from my eyes. This was why I couldn't bear having anyone close to me. Well, one of the two reasons. He leaned down slightly and kissed me roughly. I didn't move, praying for this to be over and done with. He was too big and strong and I was too scared. His hands went to my face, stroking its beautiful features roughly, and trembles racked my body.

"Get away from her!" a voice interrupted. It was Embry.

Collin and Brady were next to him and his other friends were right behind him. Collin moved forward so quickly he was a blur and punched the boy in the face. Hard. Embry shoved the boy away from me as I sank to the floor.

"Never mess with my sister again," he said, looking terrifying.

I was terrified. What did he expect me to do to repay him? Only two people in the entire world hadn't expected me to repay them. The one I tried not to think about and Emily.

The boy fled and I was surrounded by boys shaking with anger. I whimpered as my back protested. It was already bruised and banged up and smashing into a locker hadn't helped. Brady came over, the only one who seemed to be in control of himself.

"Let's get you back to Emily."

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Both Embry and Collin were freaking out as we all waited for Elly to show up. Where had she gone? The entire school going pack was waiting for her.

Collin paced. And then he turned and practically sprinted into the school. Embry grabbed one of his arms.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled.

Embry hasn't been very nice to Collin since Collin imprinted on Elly.

"She's terrified. Someone's hurting her," Collin said desperately, struggling with all his might against Embry's restraining arm.

Except Embry wasn't trying to restrain him anymore. He started to move forward before I stopped him. Both of them turned on me.

"Whoa," I held up my hands, "Chill. You'll just scare her more like this."

They stared at me for at least half a minute before deciding I was right. Both of them made a visible effort to relax and we walked forward, as a pack.

Embry and Collin were in front and I was next to them, reminding them to stay calm. The others were behind us. We picked up Elly's scent at the door of her last class and followed it to a dead end corridor. Just before we turned the corner I heard something.

Someone was whimpering slightly. Collin and Embry sped up. Elly was pressed up against a locker by a boy who was kissing her. She looked petrified with fear. She also looked like this had happened many, many times before and she had given up fighting against it.

"Get away from her!" Embry bellowed.

He looked about ready to phase, as did Collin. Collin moved towards the boy in a motion that was too quick and punched him in the face. I don't think he even realized what he was doing, he was shaking so hard.

Embry shoved the boy and said in his most menacing voice, "Never mess with my sister again."

The boy fled, faced with so many huge boys who were all shaking with barely controlled anger. Collin and Embry looked torn between comforting Elly and running after the lowlife who'd hurt her.

Elly whimpered and I got a good look at the locker she had been pressed against. It was bent, like she'd thrown herself against it in terror. The look on her face was that of pure pain. My anger vanished. It simply wasn't important.

Elly's wide eyes, under her black curls, were streaming tears. Her beautiful face was pained and miserable. Wait. Don't go thinking that I imprinted on Elly. No way. Both my best friend and my alpha would kill me for that. She just felt like... my best friend. If that makes any sense at all.

"Let's get you back to Emily," I said, careful to stay far enough away from her.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

I was a wreck all the way back to Emily's. There was one truck and six boys.

I couldn't stand more than one of them in the truck with me since there were only three seats. Brady took one look at Collin and Embry's faces and said, "You two are about to phase. Go with the others. She'll be fine."

I was too freaked out to even consider what 'phase' meant, let alone how the others were going to get back.

Brady got in and started the truck. He drove it just as naturally as Embry did. It didn't even occur to me to think about how old Brady was. Certainly too young to be driving legally. All I could concentrate on was the memory of the feel of that boy's hands on me and his lips pressed against mine. It was another horrible memory to add to my collection.

I didn't even realize we were at Emily's until Brady went and got Emily.

"Elly!" Emily's voice rang out, upset, but she quickly controlled herself, "Come on in. No one's going to touch you. You're safe with me. With us. Elly, did I tell you that I was making peanut butter cups? They just finished cooling down. Do you want one?"

Emily soothed me enough so that I stood up and walked inside, tears still pouring down my cheeks. Emily ordered everyone out.

She added something else I didn't understand, "I don't care where you go. Just far away. No watching and no listening."

She came back to me and offered me a peanut butter cup. It was delicious. I love peanut butter cups. I love anything chocolate and peanut butter. It's kind of like my love of the rain, I always knew about it, but I never had room for it in my life.

As I ate, tears streamed down my cheeks. I surprised myself by telling Emily lots of things. First I told her exactly what happened to me today. She clucked and soothed, I could see here hands itching to touch me, but she kept far enough away from me so that I wouldn't panic.

I told her how I was so often hit and whacked around. I was weak and the matrons and older boys were strong. I didn't tell her any details, just the basics of my past life. I left out only one major thing. Person actually.

It felt good to talk about it, to finally tell someone all about it. As I talked I realized just how deeply I trusted Emily.

I spent the night on Emily's couch. No one came back. Not even Sam, which meant that I was kicking my oldest brother out of his own house.

The next morning I felt much better.

"Good morning," Emily said with a smile. Her face still looked troubled though.

"What's wrong?" I asked, surprising myself. I never spoke voluntarily.

"It's just that... I can't really ask the boys to stay away forever."

I immediately felt guilty. They had all been so nice, so kind, to me and I had kicked them out of the place they spent most of their time in. Especially Sam. This was where he lived, after all.

"Of course not," I said quietly. "I don't mind, Emily."

Lie. I did mind. I was just going to have to deal with it.

"If you're sure..." Emily picked up the phone, "Sam? You can come back. Tell the boys I have breakfast ready. Elly's-" she paused and looked at me, evaluating, "-better. Bye."

In a few scant minutes, the entire house was full of its normal, rowdy occupants. Embry asked if I was okay. I only nodded my head, my talkativeness over now that others were present.

When Sam came in he went straight to Emily and looked at her with so much love that I had to look away.

Collin and Brady approached me. Collin, with the same concerned look as Embry, asked if I was okay. Again, I nodded my head. Collin looked immensely relieved. Weird. But it didn't creep me out as much as it would've done a couple days ago. I trusted my brothers and Emily.

Brady smiled at me and asked if I was looking forward to school. I stared at him from underneath my ever present curtain of hair until I realized he was joking.

I shook my head, lips curling up slightly. Unless I was imagining it both Embry and Collin looked jealous... of Brady? That didn't make any sense. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Why not? School is one of the greater joys of life," Brady grinned down at me. Even though he was fourteen just like me, he was the size of someone much, much older.

"You're insane," I said in a tiny voice.

Collin and Embry definitely looked jealous of Brady, who laughed. My lips curled up a little more.

"Mind if I eat with you?" Brady asked, the joking smile still on his face, "You need some insanity to even out your abundant seriousness. Especially about things like school."

I outright smiled. But I didn't say anything. Brady casually pulled a chair over to the counter, telling me, quite seriously, that a stool would never hold him.

"Because of your big head," I murmured.

All talk in the house ceased. Everyone stared at me. I had never made a joke before.

"Big head?" Brady asked, mock offended, "My head is perfectly normal. Just the right size."

I smiled, laughter in my eyes if not my throat.

_**Embry's Point of View**_

The minute Emily called to tell Sam that it was okay for everyone to come back I was off, sprinting through the forest.

Collin was running patrol. I reluctantly phased and told him what Emily had said. Collin immediately phased into a human and put on his clothes.

I grumbled as I followed him to Emily's. When I asked Elly if she was okay, she only nodded her head. Collin asked the same question and Elly replied the same way, nodding her head. Then Brady smiled at her.

"Looking forward to school, Elly?" He asked.

Hidden behind her curtain of black curls, Elly stared at him. She seemed to realize he was joking and the edges of her lips twitched up. Elly was smiling. Brady had made Elly smile. Why couldn't I do that? Why was Brady- not her older brother, not the one who had imprinted on her- able to make her smile so easily? Everyone else, except Emily, walked on eggshells around Elly. Brady and Emily just walked right in and made everything better.

"Why not? School is one of the greater joys of life," Brady grinned when Elly shook her head.

"You're insane," Elly said in a voice that was like the squeak of a mouse.

How did Brady do that?

"Mind if I eat with you?" Brady asked.

I stared at him. Elly ate alone at the counter, far away from the rest of us. Elly smiled. A real, honest to god smile.

"You need some insanity to even out your abundant seriousness. Especially about things like school." Brady snagged a chair and brought it over to the counter, careful, I noticed, to place it far enough away from Elly so he wouldn't cause her to panic, "I have to have a chair. A stool would never hold _me._"

"Because of your big head," Elly murmured.

We all stopped to stare at her. She had made a joke. She had willingly spoken and she had made a joke.

"Big head? My head is perfectly normal. Just the right size," Brady protested, though I could see the delight in his eyes.

If he had feelings for my little sister I would rip him to pieces before Sam or Collin could. My gaze met with Sam and Collin's. The three of us were all thinking the same thing.

Why did Brady and Emily have such a positive effect on Elly when we, the ones who were supposed to be closest to her, could do nothing to help her?

**A/N: So what do you think? Review, please.**


	4. The Very Essence Of Insanity

**Chapter 4: The Very Essence of Insanity**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Dinner was done and everyone was talking or lazing about, depending on their personalities. Brady was next to me, always a reasonable distance from me, laughing and joking. The only one absent was the boy Quil, the one who had been used as a barbie at Emily's niece's birthday party. Brady was in the middle of complaining about a teacher when the door slammed open.

"Sam!" Quil cried in a voice that suggested something bad.

Silence fell as Quil staggered in, looking as if he'd run a long distance at high speed.

"Quil," Sam said in a warning voice as he glanced at me.

There was something going on here, something that I didn't know about, but everyone else did. I could see that from the immediate stiffness of everyone's posture and the worry in the eyes of all the girls in the house.

"Emergency," Quil said.

Every boy in the room stood up and ran outside, off into the forest.

What on earth? I turned to see Rachel, Emily, and Kim were all staring at the spot where they had disappeared into the forest. The room spun before my eyes and I put my head in one hand.

Emily seemed to come back to herself as she forced a smile and started bustling busily around the kitchen.

"Emily?" I asked in a very small voice. My stomach did flip-flops. What was going on? Everything had been perfectly fine one minute and the next... "Can I- can I go back to Embry's?"

Emily turned and hesitated, "Of course... Would you mind, Rachel?"

Rachel shook her head and got up. She drove me back to Embry's.

I went into the guest room and lay down. I wasn't sure if I was sick or if I was just freaked. Sometimes, when something really weird or bad happened, I felt sick. My head would spin and my belly would practice acrobatics.

Whatever they had rushed off to, it couldn't be good. Not when the word "emergency" sent half a dozen boys, some nearly men, running into the forest at full speed. The worry on Emily, Kim, and Rachel's faces only made it worse.

Kim drove me to school the next morning, but said that she was feeling too sick to attend herself, which didn't make any sense at all.

I was left to find my own way around; none of Embry's other friends were present. The boy who had bothered me the day before stayed well away, apparently afraid that Embry might appear out of nowhere to carry out his threat.

A few other boys weren't so scared of the absent Embry. They tried to corner me somewhere alone, but I, by keeping my nose buried in a map, managed to avoid anywhere not populated by students and teachers.

Lunch was the worst. I was, of course, alone and easy pickings. A girl who looked pretty in an artificial way clicked over to me, wearing high heels that looked ridiculous, but sounded impressive.

I didn't need to be impressed to be scared. I was already scared. Her entourage, a group of girls just as artificially pretty, followed her. They put their food down next to mine- so little food that it made me think of the times that I hadn't had anywhere near enough to eat- and sat down next to me.

The lead girl had only a water-bottle and no food at all. At first they acted as if I wasn't there at all. The lead girl complained about how hard it was to lose wait without gaining it all back. I stared at her. Another girl said she was on a really strict diet and only ate protein drinks.

"So, how did you get that skinny?" The lead girl asked in a voice that sounded so fake, "I can never lose enough weight," She sighed dramatically and tragically.

How did I get that skinny? Umm... By being half-starved because food was up for grabs and the strongest got the most and I was one of the weakest. Not exactly the perfect diet.

"Come on! We promise we won't tell!" Another girl squealed.

I didn't say anything, just stared at the idiots.

"God. Is it such a big secret? I mean, you look great! You could totally use make-up and nice clothes, though," She waved at her own get-up.

Make-up? Nice clothes? This girl was wearing so many layers of make-up that her golden skin was completely obscured and it was impossible to see her real face. And the clothes she was wearing... A skirt that was so short I'm not sure it even counted as anything besides underwear. A tank top that clung so tightly to her it looked like it might squeeze the life out of her. The minute it rained, this girl would be ruined.

"Don't you talk?" Another girl asked, looking down her short nose at me.

"No," I whispered.

"That's not funny," The lead girl said, thrusting herself out of her seat and picking up her completely full water-bottle.

She strutted away as her friends followed her. I sagged, greatly relieved that they had left.

I walked from the school to Embry's house and attempted to do homework for several hours. Rachel came and picked me up for dinner at Emily's. We walked in to see Brady sitting in the kitchen talking rapidly, and completely seriously, to Emily and Kim.

"... should be finished by tomorrow or day after," he finished speaking and left.

Rachel and Kim went into another room and Emily finished making dinner. She had made considerably less than usual, just enough for four regular people.

"Emily?" I asked in a small voice.

"There isn't anything to worry about, Elly. Everyone's fine," Emily smiled a real smile, but the worry wasn't entirely gone from her eyes.

I didn't believe her. However much I trusted her, it seemed to me that she was lying. She was probably lying to try and protect me, so I didn't feel betrayed. I knew that Emily wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt me. Neither would either of my brothers.

I still was worried about what was going on. Everyone was acting so oddly, it was making me feel odd. Like I was the abnormal one, the one who was different.

I went back to Embry's as soon as dinner was over. Embry's mom wasn't there- she seemed to be very busy with her work. It was just as well. I didn't want to talk to anyone at all, much less Ms. Call. My conversations with her were so... awkward.

I went into the guest room, which was pretty much mine, and lay down. I started to shiver. It wasn't really from cold, more from the sense of something not quite right. Rain streaked down the window, soaking the world outside as it always did. I didn't sleep.

The next day was the exact same, only the girls who had pestered me at lunch the day before completely ignored me. That night, back in my room, Emily called me to tell me that most of the boys were at her house and that she was cooking up some more food. She wanted to know if I wanted to come over and have something to eat as I hadn't eaten any of the dinner she had served me earlier. I said no.

"Are you sure, Elly?" Emily asked.

I heard an indistinct murmur that sounded like, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," I said, answering both questions.

I lay back down in bed, still freaked out because of the oddness of it all. These people, who I'd just begun to trust, were making me think that maybe they were all crazy or wild or something. I desperately wanted someone else's opinion. Mine was no longer any good. I had, after all, been suspicious of my brothers, Emily, and their friends when I'd first met them.

Now I wanted to, and did with some of them, trust them.

Why didn't I have anyone I could talk to? I kept searching and searching for someone, but all I came up with was him. The boy that I had trusted with all my heart before. Before he'd been adopted.

This made me really mad. The first time that I could ever remember being truly mad.

Sad, yes. I was often scared. Rarely happy, but mad?

And my anger expanded, taking control over me. It grew and grew until I had no idea what in the world was going on.

I was up. I was running. I was slamming doors open and closed. Rain was hitting my face, soaking my clothes.

I was attracting the rain. I was running. I was out of the house, my bare feet hitting the sopping ground. I wasn't on my feet anymore. I was on my hands and knees.

My mouth was open and screams were tearing from my throat. I was in pain. Too much pain. The world spun around me as my entire body yelled its pain.

My frame contorted, growing larger and larger. My screams went up several octaves as my skin rippled and sprouted fur. Black, curly fur that looked exactly like my hair would if it was closely cropped and if it covered my entire body.

My clothes went into a million pieces, showering the ground with bits of cloth that had once been brand new clothing. And then I was a wolf, howling my pain and confusion. I was so big, big as a horse. I couldn't see properly.

I heard too much. It hurt my ears. I smelled too much, the scent of the rain and the forest and the animals and the human me and Embry and Ms. Call and everyone else who'd ever come near here. The fact that I was going insane was confirmed when I heard voices inside my head.

_Elly? _Embry's voice asked.

_I'm going crazy, _I said, and tears rolled down my wolf cheeks.

_You aren't going insane. It's- it's fine, _Sam's voice stumbled, making it sound like this was everything but fine.

My skin rippled and, with a scream, I turned back into a naked teenage girl. A naked teenage girl who had aches and pains worse than any that had come before.

I didn't have enough energy to get on my feet, let alone back inside the house. I crawled over to a group of bushes and hid myself in them. I started to cry tears of confusion and uncertainty.

Then another change rippled through my body. I grew into the same wolf as before, screams and howls of pain tearing from my mouth and my sore throat. The mouth that had too sharp teeth and the throat that was made for howling.

_What the hell? _Someone was asking. It sounded like Paul.

_AAGGHH! _I screamed mentally.

It hurt. Everything hurt. The pain was so great that I couldn't do anything, even think. It felt like someone was trying to kill me with a butter knife and perform surgery on me and I was having a baby, all at once. Only multiplied by about ten.

_Calm down, Elly. This happened to all of us. This is... _He didn't say fine again.

_But we weren't in that much pain. _Someone muttered, almost as if he was talking to himself.

_Phasing isn't normal. _Paul grumbled.

_Ow! _I cried, tears streaming down my wolf face as I turned human again.

I lay, completely human, for what felt like an hour, though it could have been any period of time at all. My entire body ached.

I got horrible cramps every month, but even they had never prepared me for anything like this. It was worse than any pain any human had ever inflicted on me. It was worse than when a drunk man had isolated me on the streets and broken my leg and several of my ribs before falling into a stupor.

I shivered on the damp ground, curled up in a ball to protect myself, both from the pain and other outside dangers that my newly heightened senses warned me of.

My senses were much sharper than usual. I could hear every rustle of the bushes around me and I could smell lots of things that I shouldn't have been able to.

When I got too cold to bear it any longer- I was naked and it was pouring rain and hovering right around freezing- I crept back into the house as I quickly as I could. I showered in warm water and put on several layers of clothes.

Then I took the top layers right back off because I was too hot. I pulled a blanket over myself because I was freezing. I pushed it off because I was sweating. I made myself some tea because I was shivering.

I took my temperature. One hundred and two degrees Fahrenheit.

I shook uncontrollably, terrified by what was happening to me. I heard the sound of people walking up to the front door and talking in deep, low voices.

I was scared, but I didn't have enough energy to get off the couch.

The door opened and I suddenly had too much energy. I needed to move. I stood up and saw the faces of the people who were walking in. I collapsed back onto the couch, no energy left in me.

I started to sweat and shiver at the same time. I started to cry again, the tears that I had thought used up rolling down my cheeks.

I stood up. I couldn't do this. I turned my back to Emily, Sam, Embry, Collin, and Brady. I forced my stiff body to my room and closed my door behind me, knowing as I did it that it wouldn't stop them.

"Elly, will you let me in? I just want to make sure you're okay," Emily tried.

I ignored her, putting my hands over my ears.

"Elly, we can explain this. You aren't going crazy," Embry tried next.

"Please, Elly?" Collin begged and I could hear an insane amount of worry in his voice.

"Just leave her be. Remember what the first time felt like? And Elly doesn't even know the legends," Brady said, obviously not talking to me.

"Elly, open the door and talk to me," It was Sam and he was issuing an order.

I felt a strange compulsion to do as he said. I couldn't resist the urge to get up and open the door. So I stood and walked to the door. But I didn't open it.

"Go away," I said in a quiet and raspy voice, following the compulsion to speak.

"Embry, Collin, take Emily back to the house and then check in on the situation. You both have patrol starting in an hour. Go," Sam's voice resounded slightly, sounding odd and powerful.

I opened the door after the footsteps faded far far away. I couldn't resist the impulse, the need, the push to open the door any longer.

"Yes?" I whispered, pretending that nothing was wrong. Pretending that Sam didn't have control over me. Pretending that I hadn't gone crazy. Pretending that I hadn't turned into a wolf.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Sam used his Alpha voice to command Elly to open the door and talk to him, then to command Embry and Collin to leave and take Emily back to her house.

I guessed that he was worried how Elly was going to react and didn't want Emily around if she phased. Sam hadn't wanted Emily to come in the first place, but when they had raced up saying that Elly had phased, Emily had insisted on coming.

I watched Collin stiffen and walk from the house like a puppet. He couldn't disobey Sam, and he really didn't want to obey him.

Before he left, I got a good look at Collin's face. It was full of worry for Elly and a need to be close to her, to make sure she was safe. I could also see the anger that he felt at the fact that he hadn't been phased when Elly had shifted.

The fact that Elly had shifted at all had been a _huge_ surprise.

Paul, Sam, Seth, and Embry were the only ones who'd been phased at the time- they'd been beyond shocked when Elly's voice had appeared in their minds. It was probably a good thing that Collin hadn't been in Elly's head when she'd first phased. Knowing him, he wouldn't have been able to control his thoughts and would've freaked Elly out even more.

And Sam and Embry would have heard what he'd thought and killed him. All in all, it was a very good thing that Collin hadn't been present.

When they were gone, Elly opened the door, an unreadable expression on her face, and said, "Yes?" in her usual tiny voice.

Sam looked like he was trying to think of the best way to tell her- he'd never had to explain it to a newbie in human form, they were usually wolves for days after they first phased. But Elly had only been a wolf for a few short minutes.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Sam opened his mouth and I waited for another creepy order.

Instead he said, in a completely normal voice, "Come sit down. We need to talk."

So I followed the two of them into the small living room and curled into a ball in a chair.

Sam started by saying, "This is going to be hard because you've never heard the legends, but you need to believe me."

He started to say something else and stopped. It seemed almost like he was going to say "trust me," but had realized that wasn't an easy thing for me to do, no matter the situation.

"You'll hear the legends officially sometime, but, basically, all of the Quiluete legends are true. Especially the ones about Quileute men, and women, turning into giant wolves to protect their people," Brady explained before Sam could, "We are the shape-shifter protectors of La Push. We protect everyone in La Push from... vampires. That's where we've all been. Several vampires have been around and we've been doing our job. Their presence triggered your change."

I sat there. Disbelieving and terrified. Shape-shifters, vampires, true legends.

"Our skin is too hot, like we have a constant fever," Brady said and I remembered the way I felt like I had a fever, "our senses are unnaturally sharp," I could hear everything for miles, I could see tiny details, I could smell things no human has ever smelled, I could taste the air with my tongue, "and we turn into wolves whenever we get mad or when we need to."

I couldn't believe it. I had to believe it. Either I believed it, or I was insane.

"Others?" I whispered, surprised that any sound at all came out of my throat.

"The pack," Brady said, sending a shiver through my entire body, "consists of me, Embry, Seth, Collin, Jared, Paul, Quil, and Sam. Sam's our Alpha."

Alpha?

"A leader, in wolf terms," Brady explained.

Sam took it from there.

Without giving me time to respond or absorb what I had learned he started to explain everything. It took a long, long time.

By the time he had finished talking, I knew that I not only trusted him, I believed him.

**A/N: So, what do you think?**


	5. Something My Alpha Won't Tell Me

**Chapter 5: Something My Alpha Won't Tell Me**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. **

I sat there in shocked silence.

"Elly?" Brady asked.

"You... you said that... that newbies stay in wolf form for..." I tried to ask my question, but it didn't quite come out.

"Usually, someone who has phased for the first time will stay in wolf form for a long period of time. The shortest was four days."

"Before me," I whispered.

I had stayed in wolf form for barely a minute.

"Yeah," Brady said, "But because you're new you're unstable."

I looked at him, confused.

"Anything could set you off and make you explode into a wolf."

I shivered. I could still feel the pain in my gut. A pain that was growing. Expanding.

My belly rolled and I raced out of the house in a blur of motion. Supernatural speed and healing came with the whole shape-shifter thing. I opened my mouth and vomited all over the bushes.

I lay on the ground until Sam and Brady approached. My body was protesting the burst of speed.

"Why does it hurt? When I was a wolf, someone commented that no one else has ever felt this much pain shifting," I asked, weakly, the need to know overcoming my usual silence.

I had been told that it was painless for everyone else and that, as a wolf, I healed extremely quickly.

"We, uhh, don't know. Only one other girl has ever shifted," Sam looked extremely uncomfortable, as if the thought of the girl pained him.

"And she would bite your head off, even if you could manage to find her. Leah isn't a very nice person and she doesn't live here anymore," Brady explained.

I was confused. Sam had said that, as protectors of La Push, leaving wasn't an option.

"There are some other, um, things," Sam stuttered.

I could've sworn that Sam was bright red. What on earth?

"I think..." Sam seemed like he had no idea what he was supposed to say, "I think that you need to talk to Emily."

The way both he and Brady were acting- like this subject was highly embarrassing and not something they knew anything about- made me think that this had to do with me being a girl. And the fact that I needed to go talk with Emily only added to that impression.

Sam took me to his and Emily's house, by way of a slightly worn path through the woods. It took us a long while because, though I was supposed to feel much stronger and much quicker than I had been before, every part of my body ached with a vengeance. It was as if every muscle, nerve, and blood cell had felt the need to rebel and fight against me.

By the time we were there, I was in even worse condition. And that was saying something. Tears were pouring down my cheeks in such large quantities and with such swiftness, that tissues were useless and the face towel that Emily handed me was soaked within one short minute.

I collapsed onto the floor just inside the door and I couldn't move.

Emily obviously wanted to help me to the couch, but Sam prevented her. I'm sure he was worried about my reaction and Emily's welfare if she touched me. Before becoming a werewolf I had had a panic attack type thing any time someone touched me. I might explode into the big black wolf again if someone touched me.

Brady and Emily talked me into standing up again and moving to the couch. I was crying even harder, if that was at all possible, and I was stifling screams at the pain inside me. The couch was occupied by several wolves who immediately moved out of the way.

"Did she really phase?" One asked Sam.

"Ow," I moaned as my tears stopped coming, I had run out of water to cry.

"What the hell is going on?" Another asked.

I was in too much pain to pay attention to who they were.

"Silence," Sam commanded and I immediately stopped making any and all noise.

Everyone's eyes flicked to me as they took this in. I knew that this answered the question about whether I'd really phased.

"Sam!" Emily cried as she watched me.

"Forget the silence," Sam said with a sigh. He had obviously not meant the order for me.

"Elly, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"I just turned into a giant wolf and I feel worse than horrible and you want to know if I'm okay?" I managed to croak through my sore voice.

Emily smiled slightly, "What do you mean you feel worse than horrible?"

I turned so I was laying belly up on the couch.

I scrunched up my face, wondering how on earth to explain it. "I... hurt... all over." I whispered and then closed my eyes as my hip throbbed and the muscles in one of my feet screamed with pain.

One of the boys who was in the room at that point- I think it might have been Quil- said, "But being a wolf makes us heal faster. We were never in pain."

I put my hands up to my head and gave a small, dry sob of pain.

"Out of earshot. All of you. Five minutes," Sam commanded before casting a worried glance at me and putting his hands around Emily's face.,"Careful, Emily. Elly's still unstable." He said it in a whisper, but I still heard him.

"Of course," Emily said in a loving tone.

Sam frowned and then disappeared out of the house and into the woods. I heard his footsteps fade far, far away. It was incredible how far away I could hear.

Emily explained to me that, as everyone had found out with the first girl to turn into a wolf, Leah, my body was half frozen in time until I stopped shifting. I would grow until I had the body of a twenty-something year old, but I wouldn't have any periods. That was a mixed blessing and curse. The curse was the growing part. I was sure that my body would only fill out more and that good food wouldn't help, making me even more stinking beautiful. The blessing was the part about not having anymore periods. I had always detested them because, for me, they came with horrible pangs and even more physical weakness than usual. Her explanation was extremely short, less than five minutes, so I heard the boys coming back.

Seth was grumbling, "Jeez. I almost got my head bitten off when I tried to tell them that they were on patrol until midnight."

"They're just worried."

"Embry's furious at Collin for not being able to control his worry and they're both furious that they have to be on patrol right now. They both need to get a life," Seth continued grumbling.

"Just because you haven't-" Jared started to say, but Sam interrupted him.

"Elly can probably hear you by now."

They came streaming into the small house, joking, laughing and goofing off like always, but quieter than usual.

I clutched my belly as I started to feel nauseous. The feeling grew quickly until I stood up and ran in a blur out the door to a clump of bushes where I threw up clear liquid, nothing else being left in my belly.

I walked, crawled really, back into the house and sat down on the couch, pulling my knees up to my chest and laying my hands on top of my knees, trying to keep myself from falling apart into a million pieces.

One of my sleeves had slipped, revealing a red welt. In front of my disbelieving eyes, the welt healed, turning light pink and then blending in with my brown skin as if it had never existed.

"Elly," Emily said cautiously, "Would you mind rolling up your sleeves and your pant legs?"

I knew there had to be a reason she was asking so I did. I closed my eyes and shuddered; the deeply ingrained habit of hiding every bit of myself possible, making me feel claustrophobic.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Elly rolled up her sleeves and her pant legs, looking like she was having a panic attack. Her eyes closed and, beneath her eyelids, her eyes shuttled back and forth.

Elly's legs and arms were mottled blue, yellow, pink, and purple with bruises and welts. Some of the bruises were fading before our eyes and others were following. Elly was healing as werewolves did, very, very quickly. No wonder she felt so horrible. If her whole body was like this and if it was all healing this quickly... How horrible it must have felt to have an abused childhood's worth of injuries to all be healing at once.

Elly looked like she desperately wanted to cry, but couldn't. Like she wanted to run, but had no where to go. Like she needed to escape.

"Ells, you can unroll your pants and sleeves," I said, "It's fine. You're just healing."

She stared at me with disbelief then said in a hoarse whisper, "Fine? You have no idea how much this hurts. I feel like I'm going through a fast forwarded healing after an encounter with Dan, Jack, Aidon, and Mistress Lea and a sped up growth spurt."

I stared at her because something had just occurred to me. What if that was exactly what was happening? A sped up healing and a sped up growth spurt? Only Elly had no extra energy or fat to contribute and it was probably killing her.

My voice was gone.

I opened my mouth.

Nothing.

Again.

"Elly, what if I told you that that is exactly what's happening?" I managed.

Elly gasped and then pressed her hands to her stomach. And then her head. Then she curled up into a ball.

"You need to eat," Emily said as she gathered food and tried to get Elly to eat it. Elly only shook her head.

"Sam?" I asked in a whisper.

"Go get Collin and Embry. Paul, Jared, replace them on patrol," Sam commanded and, though I couldn't actually hear his thoughts just then, I was sure that he was worried that Elly was going through too much and that this might be the last chance they had to see her.

I phased just long enough to think, _you two need to get in here now. Elly's in trouble. _

Instantly, they were pounding towards me and phasing into human form so quickly that I was sure they'd broken the record.

They followed me into the house, where pretty much everyone sat in the kitchen. Everyone except Sam and Emily. Sam was looking worried, perhaps even frantic. Becoming a werewolf had never put anyone else in so much danger.

I could see that Elly was taller already. She had been much to skinny in the first place and now she was growing quickly. Her body didn't have enough to keep healing and growing and keep her awake. Elly looked like she was slipping into unconsciousness. Emily was desperately trying to get Elly to eat something, anything. Embry was by Sam's side in less than a second.

"Tell your mom thanks, Embry," Elly said and Embry looked like he was seriously panicking.

Elly had made it sound like she was dying. Like she wasn't going to wake up when she went to sleep. Collin hesitated behind me for a split second. And then the need to be near her overwhelmed him and he walked closer. Elly's eyes flicked to his face.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Flies buzzing around me. That's what all the people trying to get me to eat, stay awake, talk to them were. Annoyances. I was nearly done here. I was ready to go. I just had a few debts to pay. Embry entered the room.

"Tell your mom thanks, Embry," I said it quietly. One debt payed. I was too tired. I couldn't pay the others. I wished that I could, but I couldn't. It wasn't possible. I didn't have enough energy to do anything anymore.

Someone else entered my vicinity, right behind Brady. He moved around Brady and towards me. I saw him. Collin. I noticed that my view of him was impaired by my curly hair in front of my face. It didn't matter that I was dying. It didn't matter that I had a second or two left. I was ready to go.

I'd seen him and I was ready. He was amazing. Incredible. Wonderful. Beyond belief. I could feel my life force slipping away, but I saw the bags under his eyes and I was worried that he wasn't getting enough sleep.

I stared at him, unwilling to close my eyes. Wanting the last thing I saw to be him. He was the only thing that mattered. I felt a pull in my gut that wasn't painful. I felt a wave of grief and worry that didn't belong to me.

I wanted to say goodbye, but I had no energy left. I closed my eyes. And then I heard the most wonderful sound in the world.

"Nice try, Elly. But you aren't dying."

**A/N: Oh, man. I really am evil. Feel free to tell me what you think in a review!**


	6. My Imprint

**Chapter 6: My Imprint**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N: So, a few people were confused about what happened at the end of the last chapter- Elly imprinted on Collin, who told her that she wasn't dying. Though this chapter should make that obvious enough.**

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Elly looked at Collin in a way that I recognized all too well. The way a wolf looks at his (in this case her) imprint. Only this was slightly different. This look was stronger, relieved, and somehow ready. And then it occurred to me. She was ready to leave this world. No. No. No!

I glanced at Collin. On his face was a look of pain so intense I could've sworn that he had just jumped off a cliff and broken all the bones in his body. Collin's eyes were glued to Elly's face. His skin paled and turned whiter than I had ever seen it before.

"No," He whispered the word as Elly tried to open her mouth, gave up, and closed her eyes.

We could all hear her go into a coma, pulling away from us, dying. And Collin looked like he knew her condition better than any of us.

But he still said, "Nice try, Elly. But you aren't dying."

Elly was dying, though. And a few words couldn't stop that. Collin seemed to have completely forgotten that anyone or thing but Elly existed. He was focused solely on the girl who was dying.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

How do you tell someone that you love more than anything that you are dying and that they can do nothing to stop it when you can't even open your eyes to see his face? I needed to see his face, to know that he really existed. The pull in my gut, the feelings that didn't belong to me; they weren't proof enough.

And then, as if he knew exactly what I was feeling and thinking, Collin's hand brushed my cheek. If I hadn't been dying, I would've panicked and probably phased. But, as it was, I had never felt anything better in my life.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Collin moved forward and knelt next to Elly. He was staring at her, most likely trying to decide what to do, when he seemed to receive a message. Like he was being told what Elly needed most just then.  
Collin moved his hand so that it was softly touching her cheek and I stared. Because, for the first time, the touch of someone else's skin on hers didn't worsen Elly's situation. Instead it seemed to make it better.

Elly's eyes fluttered. Then Jared raced back into the house, panting.

"Vampires. Might be Cullens. Can't tell," He gasped and then waited for Sam's orders.

Sam looked at Elly and Collin and then back up at everyone else.

"Everyone except Brady, come on. Let's go," And he ran out of the house, the others trailing behind him.

Collin didn't move. Sam hadn't expected him to. Sam hadn't even considered the possibility that Collin would phase right now to go fight. That would just get Collin and Elly killed- Elly because nobody but Collin could help her then and Collin because no way would he be thinking straight.

Emily looked distraught and Kim and Rachel looked panicked.

We killed a roving coven of vampires, Elly turned into a wolf causing her health to descend rapidly, and more vampires, possibly Cullens, arrive. Big day, anyone?

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Everything was slipping away. Collin's hand on my cheek became more and more distant.

I floated, trying to decide whether I should fight or not. I didn't want to fight. I wanted to end my life on a good note. What better note than Collin's hand on my cheek?

I was ready to be done with my life. I was ready not to have to go through every day cringing, pretending that I was fine.

I had just decided that I wasn't going to try to wake back up when a horrible, sickly sweet smell reached my nose.

Everything else faded away into blackness and I faded into my memories. Different ones called me, wanting to torture me with what had happened, one last time.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

The sickly sweet vampire scent arrived before Carlisle did.

It had been just the Cullens visiting their old house that had sent Jared running into the house. When Sam had come face to face with Carlisle, he had decided that Elly needed help. Carlisle had, after all, treated other werewolves before. But I didn't know any of that then. All I knew was that Sam and a vampire were fast approaching the house.

"... Elly phased earlier. She's healing and growing at the same time. When I left she was nearly unconscious..." Sam was saying as he walked with Carlisle into the room.

Collin stiffened and spun into a crouch in front of Elly.

"Stop it, Collin. Carlisle is going to try to help Elly. Either let him do it or go somewhere else," Sam commanded.

Collin froze then went back into his kneeling position. Carlisle hurried over to Elly and started to check her.

"Don't touch her," Collin snarled, his hand still brushing Elly's cheek.

Carlisle looked up and I explained, "Elly has a problem with anyone touching her; she's been abused."

Carlisle nodded and continued his examination without touching her. He looked more and more worried as he worked.

"There isn't anything I can do here. I'd have to take her to my house. She's in a coma right now. If I don't get some stuff into her soon, she may never wake up,"

Collin nodded and said, "I can't move fast enough without phasing."

Carlisle looked to Sam who said, "Brady, Embry go with them."

Again, there was no question of Collin leaving Elly's side.

Carlisle, after a split second hesitation, picked Elly up in his arms. Elly didn't respond.

If I hadn't already known that she was dying, I would've been extremely worried. Both her wolf and human sides would've been telling her that her position was bad and very, very dangerous.

Carlisle ran to his house, moving in a blur, and the three of us followed in wolf form, our paws pounding hard on the ground.

While Carlisle rushed Elly into the house, we phased back into humans and put on our shorts.

Embry, Collin, and I went into the house to find the silent family of vampires spread around the downstairs. Collin's eyes were fixed on the ceiling above his head and he seemed to be judging something.

We followed him as he walked up the stairs and into a room. Carlisle already had Elly hooked up to an IV and some of machines. He looked like he was doing everything he could to keep her from slipping any further away.

But the frown on his face, the wrinkles in his smooth forehead, and the increasingly slower beat of Elly's heart, made me think that Elly was beyond saving.

My eyes flickered to Collin. He looked pained as he walked over to Elly and touched her face, gently. Collin looked broken, defeated.

_**Collin's Point of View**_

I stared into Elly's face as I tried to figure out how best to help her. I felt a pull in my gut and I knew that she needed proof that this world still existed. That there was something worth fighting for. I put my hand on her cheek and I could feel her distant surprise and pleasure. But she was slipping further and further away. Blackness was surrounding her, dulling everything that she was feeling. She hadn't given up. She wasn't gone. Yet. Elly had to live. She had to survive this.

A vampire had entered the room. I moved into a defensive position, ready to protect Elly from the threat that I could destroy.

It was just Carlisle. I didn't move.

Sam said something and it took several very long minutes for me to figure out what he had said. I could let Carlisle care for Elly or I could leave. I moved aside, still touching her beautiful face.

Carlisle moved to touch her. I stopped him. Carlisle examined her and then gave his verdict. He had to take Elly to his house or she would never open her eyes again. I couldn't carry her to his house. I wasn't fast enough without phasing.

Carlisle picked her up and ran out of the house, moving as fast as any vampire I had ever seen had moved. I followed, phasing along the way. Carlisle brought her into his house. I phased back into human form and walked in with the Embry and Brady beside me.

Elly was above me, and I followed the pull in my gut to the room in which she was hooked up to machines. The pull was fading rapidly. Elly was fading rapidly. Her pulse was slower and slower. Her heart was beating too slowly. Nothing I said or did could change the fact that she was too far gone. Not coming back.

And I wished that she had never turned into a werewolf. If she hadn't phased she wouldn't be in this situation. If she wasn't a werewolf, she could be turned into a vampire to save her life. But no, she was a werewolf and she was seconds away from dying.

Carlisle was watching her, trying to help, trying to do something. But the look on his face, in his disgusting golden eyes, clearly said that he couldn't save the abused girl.

I couldn't save her.

Brady couldn't save her with his ridiculous jokes.

No one could save her.

Or so I thought.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

My memories swarmed around me. The horribleness of most of them pushed me even farther away from life. I wanted to die. I needed to die. Anything to get away from the memories. And then one particular memory surfaced. It was of Kade, the only person in the world who I'd trusted before I came to La Push. I had just been whacked around by an annoyed sixteen year old and Kade had found me huddled in a corner, hiding as I cried.

Kade couldn't talk, but he'd used sign language to tell me, _Never give up, Elly. There are always people worth living for. _

That memory brought memories of Collin to the surface. The first was him smiling and laughing, the boy I'd seen on my first few nights. Then the furious Collin who'd come to my rescue with Brady and Embry. Then the exhausted and worried Collin who I'd seen before I'd closed my eyes. I wanted to see him again.

This realization brought on another flood of images. Embry, trying to help me, slightly ill at ease around his new sister. Emily, the scar-free part of her face smiling. Brady, joking and laughing. Sam, commanding and quiet. The other boys who were my pack-mates. And then again, Collin.

What was I doing? Had I just been about to give up and let myself drift away with no fight? Had I really just given in to death? Even been ready to die?

_Never give up. There are always people worth living for._

Kade was right. I had to at the very least try.

I struggled, feeling rather like I was swimming through molasses to get back to consciousness. It wasn't working. I wasn't getting anywhere. But I had to keep moving. I had to get back. I needed to get back. I needed to prove to Kade that all his efforts to save me weren't wasted.

But then I heard, "Collin, you've got to eat something!"

That was Brady's voice, only it wasn't joking. It was stressed and strained.

"No," Collin. Collin was there, next to me.

"You've got to be hungry," Brady said flatly.

"I'm not."

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Brady nearly shouted.

Collin didn't say anything. I could hear him take a steadying breath.

"You haven't eaten, slept, or drunk in forty-eight hours!"

Collin hadn't eaten, slept, or drunk anything in two days? Was he trying to kill himself... because of me?

My eyes fluttered open easily, the threat to Collin making it effortless. Collin was who I saw first. He was standing, glaring at Brady with his arms crossed. Collin looked horrible. His face was gaunt and his eyes were puffy and red.

"Collin," I whispered.

Collin, Brady, and Embry all whipped around to look at me.

Collin was at my side, a finger to my temple, as soon as he realized what was going on. My eyes wandered along the room, which smelled sickly sweet, and to a huge man who was standing in the doorway. He wasn't a werewolf, but he was just as big as any of my pack-mates, if not as tall.

My eyes started to leak tears as the panic set in. My abused girl instincts were telling me he was trouble and my werewolf instincts were saying that he was my enemy and a threat. The huge boy was a vampire.

"You're scaring her," Collin growled and the vampire disappeared from the door frame. Seconds later, another vampire man appeared. He was smaller, and somehow less scary.

"Elly, this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He's been helping you," Brady said.

I tried to nod, but I couldn't really move my head.

Dr. Cullen moved to a monitor and pressed some buttons.

I looked at myself and the tears came faster. While I had been... absent my body had changed. Most of my injuries were healed and I had grown. My already curvy body had filled out even more and I had grown at least four, maybe even five or six, inches. I barely recognized myself, the worst possible feeling after almost dying.

"Elly?" Collin asked, gently.

I looked away from myself.

Dr. Cullen moved closer to me and I closed my eyes. I could feel Collin's instant anxiety and worry and my eyes popped back open. He was worried that my eyes wouldn't open again, but I just wanted to avoid looking at Dr. Cullen.

"Well, you're much improved. Your body was trying to heal quickly and grow quickly even though you didn't have enough energy or nutrition as it was. The strain sent you into a coma for two days," Dr. Cullen said with an easy smile that didn't reveal his fangs, "While you were in the coma, your body continued to heal and grow and I gave you what you needed through the IV. You should probably eat something."

Brady handed Collin a plate with food on it and I curled into a tight ball. My body still felt strange to me, but I could move.

I didn't want the food.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Collin sat vigil over Elly. Carlisle said that the health of her body was improving with every minute, but that she might not have enough strength to wake up again.

I could guess what he didn't say. That Elly might not want to wake up again. Collin sat, not eating, not drinking, barely even moving.

"Collin, you've got to eat something!" I cried when Collin refused yet another of Esme's meals. (Which, despite stinking to high heaven, are actually quite good.)

"No," Collin said blandly.

"You've got to be hungry."

"I'm not," Collin said, barely looking up from Elly.

I nearly lost my temper as I shouted, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Collin stood up, taking a deep breath.

"You haven't eaten, slept, or drunk in forty-eight hours!" I exclaimed as Collin glared at me, his arms crossed.

My best friend was wasting away and I wasn't letting him go without a fight. A huge fight.

Maybe Sam would order him to eat, to survive. I was reaching boiling point when something stopped me.

"Collin," Elly whispered.

I spun to look at her, listening hard now. Her heart rate and pulse had sped up, almost returning to normal. She looked tired and confused, but awake.

Collin completely forgot me as he moved in a blur to Elly's side. Elly's eyes landed on Emmett, who lingered in the doorway, and I could see the panic attack start. Her heart rate sped up, tears fell from her eyes, and she seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Before I could do or say anything, Collin told Emmett, "You're scaring her."

Emmett left and Carlisle came in, replacing him.

I told Elly the short version of who he was and that he'd helped her.

Then I left the room. Out of my pocket I pulled a cell phone and punched in Sam's number.

Sam answered immediately and I told him what had happened. Both he and Emily would be there soon. Sam spent several minutes trying to prevent Emily from coming, but she wasn't having any of it.

I glanced into the room and noticed that Elly was curled into a ball and refusing to eat the food Esme had made. I told Emily that she might want to bring some of Elly's favorite food. Emily said she would and I walked back into the room.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Emily and Sam came a little while later, interrupting Collin's efforts to get me to eat.

"Elly!" Emily cried in relief.

I was greatly surprised that Sam had allowed her to come, but then I noticed the way he looked like he'd lost a fight, his shoulders slumped and his eyes wary. Emily had forced him to let her come.

My curly hair swung in front of my face as Emily approached me with a soft smile. In her hands she had a dish of food that she set down.

"Would you like something to eat? I brought tomato soup."

The smell of the soup was enticing, but I wasn't hungry. I didn't want any food.

"Come on, Elly. You heard what I was telling Collin, the same applies to you," Brady said.

I shook my head and curled into a smaller ball, tucking tighter into myself.

"Don't make me give you an order," Sam threatened when I turned my head away from the soup.

"Don't," Collin interrupted and everyone looked at him, including me, "Elly, if you eat, so will I."

He'd said the only thing in the world that could possibly have gotten me to willingly eat the soup. And he knew it.

I took a spoonful of the soup and forced it down as I watched Collin take a bite of the meal that smelled of vampires. Collin finished the plate full of food and I ate half the soup that Emily had brought. With the food in my belly came a sudden strength and confusion.

Different parts of me were arguing with each other. The part of me that was a scared and abused girl was telling me that having Collin so close to me, having him _touching _me, was dangerous and I should be moving rapidly away from him. The part of me that had imprinted on Collin was saying that he would never hurt me and that it was comforting to have his hand on my cheek.

I was torn. I didn't know whether to be afraid or happy. I didn't even know what I wanted. Actually, I knew one person that I wanted.

I wanted Kade, the boy who had acted as my big brother and made me feel safe, to help me sort out all the confusion I was feeling.

Collin moved backwards, away from me, and half of me was relieved. But the other half wanted him to come back.

My two halves yelled at each other until I felt like I was going to explode from the hundreds of feelings coming from the two sides of me.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Elly refused the food, even the soup that Emily brought. I tried to convince her, but my argument didn't fly.

Sam threatened to order her to eat, but Collin interrupted. He told Elly that, if she ate the soup, he would eat food as well. Elly regarded him for a split second, taking in his worn face and ate the soup.

When she was done eating, she looked so much better. Her strength seemed to have returned, but her eyes and her furrowed eyebrows clearly said that she was struggling internally. This was confirmed when Collin backed away from her, looking like he was forcing himself to move. Elly stared at him, her gaze half terrified and half reassured.

Carlisle intervened, telling Elly that she could go home. Elly looked over to Embry who had been as quiet as ever, watching his sister from his position against the wall. Elly didn't really have a home to go to, just the guest room at Embry's house.

Carlisle removed the IV from her arm and Elly stood up, swaying for a moment before catching herself. She walked stiffly to the door and hunched her shoulders forward.

**A/N: Okay, so Elly didn't die... I'm not _that _mean. Review!**


	7. Brothers

**My New Life Chapter 7: Brothers**

_**Elly's Point of View**_

I really didn't want to walk through the house of vampires, but I didn't want to stay there any longer either. So I hunched my shoulders forward and hid behind my hair as Brady came to walk at my side. Collin walked behind me, far enough away so that he wouldn't cause me anymore pain than I was already experiencing.

We walked down a set of stairs and to a living room full of vampires. There were three vampire men. Tears leaked down my cheeks as the panic set in once again. I was frozen at the bottom of the stairs, unable to move as everyone looked at me.

"Hey, Elly, come on! My nose hurts. Let's get out of here," Brady called to me, several steps in front of me.

I smiled slightly and the tears stopped, "Selfish," I whispered, knowing full well that he could hear me.

"Am not!" Brady protested.

"Are too," Collin said with a smile.

"Am not!" Brady insisted.

"What are you, two years old?" Someone I didn't know asked.

It wasn't a vampire who had spoken, but rather a werewolf. My eyes flitted over to the man who had spoken. He was just as big as Sam, with the same Quiluete look. This had to be Jacob Black. I remembered what Sam and Brady had told me. Most of what they had told me.

"Ignore Jake," Embry advised and I remembered that Jake was one of Embry's best friends. If my brother trusted him, then I would be fine.

But my abused girl self was screaming at me that just because my brother trusted this stranger didn't mean I could. And the war inside me resumed, louder than ever. Two of the male vampires were watching me, curiously, as I darted to the door and outside, my inability to move forgotten.

I got outside just in time as I exploded into the huge, curly haired wolf. The eyes upon me and my new body made me so mad that I phased.

"Why was she feeling like that?" A vampire voice asked.

"She's at war with herself. Like different parts of her want different things and react differently," Another voice answered. I was panicking before I heard the voices of my pack-mates.

_Elly! You're okay. _The relieved thought came from Quil.

_Of course, moron. Brady already told us that. _Jared muttered.

_This is so creepy. How can he hear my thoughts?_

_We can all hear your thoughts. Remember? _Paul asked in a cocky voice.

_Thanks, Paul. _I said, relaxing. It was so much easier when I could concentrate on someone else, rather than myself. _But I meant the leech. _

_Edward can read minds. He can probably hear us all right now because he can hear your thoughts. Hi, Edward! _Seth said, being as weird as always.

_Hey! I am not weird. _

_Yeah, because it isn't weird to think a greeting so that a mind reader can hear it in the thoughts of your pack-sister. _I said. This method of communication was so much easier for me. I didn't have to speak or draw attention to myself. I just needed to think.

_Ew. Think you could turn off your nose? That place stinks. _Paul complained.

_Think you could turn your brain on? Thinking for you is tiring. _I retorted, calmly.

_That's it. _Paul thought as he started running toward me, bent on a fight. The others followed him, all in wolf form. Seconds later they were there and Paul was leaping at me. I let out a barking laugh as I moved out of his way.

_Hey, Paul, think how much trouble you'd be in if I turned into a girl right now. _I teased as he snarled and leaped again.

Paul's thoughts flickered briefly to the punishment that he would receive not only from Collin, but also from Sam, Embry, Brady and Emily. I took the chance to push him onto his back and snap at his throat.

Paul froze, knowing that if he moved he would get a serious wound.

_Beat by a girl, Paul. _Jared thought.

_Don't let Leah ever hear you say that. _Seth warned.

_Get off me, Elly. I thought you were supposed to be a shy little girl._

_Do I look human or little to you? _I asked as my tail whacked Paul in the face and I went to sit next to Seth.

_Not right now. You used to. _Paul grumbled to himself as he stood on his feet.

_Aren't you supposed to be on patrol? _I asked, surprising myself with my talkativeness. Of course, I wasn't actually talking, I was thinking. I did more thinking than talking most of the time.

_Wow! She can actually think! _Jared thought.

_Better than you can. _Quil laughed to himself. _Especially around Kim._

_What about you around Claire? _Paul taunted.

_So, you don't change at all when you're with Rachel. _Seth thought sarcastically.

_You are so annoying! Can't you just imprint already? _

_Brady and Embry haven't imprinted either. _Seth pointed out.

_I don't know... Embry's been really weird lately. He's always disappearing somewhere. And he won't think about it. _Quil thought. Quil and Embry were best friends.

_What's wrong with my brother? _I asked, before changing that statement. All of these boys were my brothers. _I mean Embry._

_So Collin is your brother? That's gross. _Seth, the ever annoying, said. If he wasn't older than me, I would've said that he acted like the youngest and most irritating kid.  
_Well, the only time he's where he's supposed to be is when he has patrol, or school, or occasionally a meal at Emily's. Although, it could be... _Quil trailed off, being sensitive about my arrival, phasing, and near death. How kind of him. And how unusual.

_Me? I don't know. Up until yesterday- I mean when I phased, I had no idea where all of you went off to. Why don't you ask him? _

_We did. He didn't reply. He just kept thinking about- _Jared cut himself off, but I had already seen the memory in his mind.

Embry had been thinking about how weird it was to have a sister. And how difficult it was. I didn't blame him. Having brothers was not an experience that I had expected from this place. My previous brother-like boy had left me when he got adopted. I hadn't seen Kade or dwelt on my memories of him in a long time.

_Who's Kade?_

_Who's who? _I asked, trying on innocence for size.

_Kade. The boy you were just thinking about. _

Innocence didn't fit.

The name being thought by Seth brought memories rushing to the surface. Kade's caramel hair flopping into his face as he stood in front of me, protecting me from the slaps of the drunk "caretaker". Kade's strong hands telling me a story. Kade's patience as he taught me how to use American Sign Language.

_Who is he? _

_A friend. _I replied and gave Seth a look that challenged him to argue with me. He didn't.

I had a feeling that, what with my two blood brothers, my best friend, and Collin ready to protect me, Seth didn't want to send me back into a coma.

I breathed deeply through my nose, then winced at the mistake. The place reeked of the sickly, cloyingly sweet smell that vampires gave off. Ugh.

_Told you it stinks. _Paul said, cocky as usual.

_Worse than you. _Jared barked, grinning.

Paul leaped at Jared and I watched them tumble and fight, playing more than trying to harm each other. Maybe having this many brothers wouldn't be so bad.

_Welcome to the family. _Seth said in one of his few non-aggrivating moments.

_Of boys. _Jared added, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

_I'm a girl. _I said as I deliberately stepped on Jared's tail.

_Yeah, but we're boys. Get used to it. _

_We'd hate to make you uncomfortable. _Paul muttered as he picked himself up and shook himself off.

But I knew that I wasn't going to be the only one to whom me being a girl among all the boys would be uncomfortable. Especially with the mind reading and shifting stuff.

"Elly!" That was Sam, waiting with Collin, Embry, Brady, and Emily outside of the Cullen's house.

Abruptly, I became aware of the presence of everyone else- everyone whose thoughts were not running through my mind- nearby.

I turned to look at him and cocked my head to signal that I was listening. Turning back into a human would be a bad idea since I didn't have any clothes.

_**Brady's Point of View**_

Elly froze at the bottom of the stairs, tears falling down her face. She looked like she was having another panic attack- probably because Jasper, Emmett, and Edward were watching T.V. nearby.

"Hey, Elly, come on! My nose hurts. Let's get out of here," I said, already several feet ahead of her.

"Selfish," Elly whispered as the tears stopped flowing and she smiled the tiniest bit.

"Am not!"

"Are too," Collin, my supposed best friend, said.

"Am not!"

"What are you, two years old?" Jake asked.

"Ignore Jake," Embry said, but Elly was looking around the room, desperate.

In a blur of movement she raced to the door and I heard the sounds of exploding cloth and the heavy footfalls of a wolf. Elly had phased.

We followed Elly out, and watched her tail wag as Paul appeared out of the trees, leaping for her. Elly dodged him and he leaped at her again. Paul hesitated, though, and Elly won the fight. Collin looked ready to phase and protect her but I stopped him.

"Collin, look at her tail. It's wagging. She's having fun."

Collin nodded and we waited a few more minutes for Elly.

"Elly!" Sam called when he was done being patient. Elly turned and he told her that it was time to go home. Elly nodded and started off with the others, in wolf form, to go back to either Embry's or Sam's. She didn't have any clothes to change into if she phased back here.

I followed her, ducking into the trees before taking off my shorts and phasing. Collin didn't follow me, though. I found out why when I phased.

Elly's thoughts were in my mind and I could hear the battle that was raging inside of her. She both loved and was scared of Collin- her wolf-girl and abused-girl halves of her arguing fiercely about what she should be feeling and thinking.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Sam told me to go back to Embry's so I could get some clothes and then go to Emily's for lunch. Everyone in the pack was going to be there, so I had to be there as well. I followed Paul, Jared, Quil, and Seth into the forest and Brady joined us a second later.

_Race you. _Paul challenged me.

_Nuh-huh. Race Seth or someone. _Brady said, _Elly needs to take it easy. Doctors orders._

I stuck my tongue out at Brady, who was racing to catch up with us. Paul picked up the speed, moving faster over the ground and jumping right over a stream. I followed him, getting out of the way of the dirt that Seth was kicking up into my face. Quil bumped into me, on purpose, and I bumped into Jared, who bumped into Paul, who turned on Jared.

_Thanks, Quil. _

Having brothers obviously had its cons.

_Who's waiting at Emily's? _Brady asked.

_Emily-_

_Duh. _Paul interrupted.

_Kim, Rachel, and Claire._

Immediately Jared's, Paul's, and Quil's minds were filled with thoughts of their imprints. It wasn't too bad with Quil, because he thought of Claire like a sister. But with Paul and Jared...

I never wanted thoughts like that about another girl in my head.

The disgust overpowered me and I phased back into a girl, without meaning to.

Instantly, all my pack-brothers turned to look at me, out of reflex. Once they saw me they quickly looked away, embarrasment adorning their features.

"Oops," I whispered, trying to remember how to phase back. I was _not _walking all the way back to Emily's naked.

Brady yipped gently, his eyes still fixed determinedly on the ground.

This was so uncomfortable. And I was soaked now, the rain making me feel like I was in the shower.

My brothers hovered around me, unsure whether they should continue or wait. Brady seemed to be trying to decide whether he should shift again or not.

I could feel, in my body, that I had the energy to phase back, but I couldn't find the necessary anger. Brady let out a small bark that seemed to be questioning. Because I was just as much a wolf as them, though admittedly not in wolf form, I understood what he was trying to say. Brady wanted to know how he could help.

"Make me angry," I whispered.

Brady looked up at me, too startled to care that I was naked. He shook his large furry head, but it wasn't necessary for him to upset me because just his eyes on me reminded me that my body had changed and that made me angry.

_I can't- _Brady was thinking when I phased into the beautiful black wolf.

_Thanks._

_I didn't do anything. _Brady sounded surprised and guilty.

_You looked at me. _I reminded him.

In the minds of my brothers, I caught flashes of my naked form. I didn't look at all fragile or abused.

_What happened to you?_ Seth asked, obliviously.

_They were thinking about Rachel and Kim. _I said with a shudder.

_So? _Seth asked. He had shared the pack mind long enough so that he had grown, well, used to seeing the disgusting memories and thoughts of the others.

_I'm a girl. And I'm not a lesbian. _

_Oh. _Seth thought, dragging the 'o' sound out.

_Didn't your sister ever get disgusted? _I asked, not wanting to continue talking about it, lest I really remember it and find myself turning back into a human.

_I dunno. _

Boys. Couldn't they pay attention to anything other than the latest car or brawl? There was something messed up about the Y chromosome.

_Hey! _All my pack-brothers yelled at me.

Oops.

_Without men, you wouldn't exist!_

_So you're telling me that my father is a good man? _I challenged, knowing perfectly well that my dad had fathered two children with someone other than his wife and then left the mothers to deal with the problem themselves. And left me to the orphanage when my mom had died.

_That wasn't the point. Some of us are good people._

My favorite brother was a good person. And he didn't give a darn about cars or fighting or anything like that.

_Which of us is your favorite brother? _Seth asked eagerly.

_Not any of you. Kade. _I said and emotions coursed through me. If Kade was here, he could help me make sense of all this. He could do so much for me, because he had known me when I was in the orphanage, and he knew exactly what I went through. I needed my brother.

_We'll find him for you, Elly. _Brady promised impulsively.

_We will? _Jared asked in disbelief.

_Not now. First we have to get to Emily's before Sam gets impatient enough to kill us. _Quil oh-so helpfully put in.

My brothers stopped, waiting for me to keep running. They were going to phase back, once I was out of sight. One incident was enough in one day.

I broke through the trees into the clearing in which Emily's house was built. It occurred to me to wonder why everyone called it Emily's house when it was Sam's too.

"Elly?" Collin asked, walking up to me with an armful of clothes. He set them down in front of me, but didn't get closer than a foot away from me.

I moved forward, cautiously, my nose gently touching Collin's face. Collin was tall, way over six feet, but he wasn't anywhere near as big as my wolf form.

Then I backed up and grabbed my clothes in my mouth.

The clothes didn't fit anymore, but I forced myself into them anyway. They were a size or two too small and I was insanely grateful for the sweatshirt that, when I had bought it, had been too big, but now fit perfectly.

Brady grinned at me when I walked back in, "Aren't you too warm under all those layers?"

"She cooled down on the way here," Seth joked.

"I'm fine," I answered Brady.

"Don't look at me!" Quil said, "I wasn't at fault."

"No," I agreed, "that was Paul and Jared."

Both of them turned bright red and I laughed along with Seth, Brady, and Quil. The laughter eased the tension and embarrassment of the memory.

"Sorry that we made you uncomfortable," Paul repeated his earlier words with a sneer.

"Not uncomfortable," Brady said, making a face, "Disgusted. Repulsed."

Paul shrugged as if to say 'your point?'

"Wonder what it will be like..." Brady trailed off.

"What?" Seth asked.

"When the situation is reversed."

I giggled. Leave it to Brady to wonder about something that would make everyone so uncomfortable.

"Eww," Seth said, "No offense."

"Would someone mind telling us what happened?" Embry asked.

We all fell silent. Paul and Jared looked at their imprints, who they were holding tight. We exchanged glances. Paul and Jared both looked like they didn't want to talk about it in front of Kim and Rachel. Quil shook his head, he wasn't telling the story. Seth just grinned, leaving it to Brady and me.

"You want me to tell it?" Brady asked.

"Shy again," Paul muttered.

"Being shy around you is now impossible," I muttered, "and impractical."

Brady smiled slightly, "We were running back when Paul and Jared, umm, lost control of their thoughts," his eyes flicked to Kim and Rachel.

"Hey, what about Quil?" Paul asked, being his usual insensitive self.

"Claire is four. That's different."

Realization flashed over Rachel's face and Kim turned bright red.

"I guess that was a little weird for Elly because-"

I gave Brady a scathing glare.

"Fine. A lot weird," Brady rolled his eyes, "'cause she phased back. It went downhill from there."

Embry and Sam both looked angry, and Collin looked... well, glad. I tried to stifle the immediate hurt that I felt at that.

"So," Brady said, acting as if nothing was happening, "what did you cook, Emily?"

**A/N: REVIEW! **


	8. Searching

**My New Life Chapter 8: Searching**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. (Surprise, surprise.) **

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This chapter is dedicated to .WOLF for her wonderful reviews and ideas! Thanks so much to CaitlinB54 for beta-ing this chapter! Go read her stories, if you haven't already. **

_**Elly's Point of View**_

For the next few days I avoided Collin, and the rest of the pack, as I was trying (unsuccessfully) to sort out my conflicting feelings . I couldn't go to school because Sam insisted that I wasn't stable enough yet. Apparently, one little thing could set me off, and that might lead to me unintentionally telling the world our secret. On the bright side, it made avoiding the pack a lot easier.  
Unfortunately, that still left me with one problem. Boredom.

My brothers were determined to help me overcome this unquenchable feeling, but eventually, everyone but Seth and Brady had more or less given up.

In fact, the two of them never left me alone - the only time they left my side was when they had to go on patrol, and then they came back, much to my relief, right after they were done. Sam had talked to Doctor Fang (a nickname that my brothers came up with for Carlisle) about my condition and had come to the conclusion that I needed to rest. So, that's why I was forced to stalk around Embry's house, not patrolling, not going anywhere, and not really doing anything. 

_**Brady's Point of View**_

I ran my patrol, my feet flying as fast as my thoughts. I was thinking about Elly. Again.  
She seemed so confused and doubtful of herself, unsure whether she was an abused human or an imprinted wolf. Plus, the whole situation with her shifting back couldn't have helped.

Only when I heard an animalistic growl in my mind did I realize that Collin was running patrol with me. Oops.

_Is she holding up okay? _He asked, worried about Elly's well-being.

_Don't worry Collin, she's okay. She just needs a little time. _I assured him, knowing how strongly he felt.

Collin's thoughts were full of emotion, worry, and sheer guilt for not being there for Elly when she needed him. When he thought about the incident with Elly phasing back, a mind dizzying array of feelings bubbled, each emotion contrasting with another.

Collin was glad and upset that he hadn't been there when Elly had phased back into a woman, stark naked. Glad because he knew he wouldn't have been able to control his thoughts if he had been there, and that would have made it harder for Elly.  
However, he was upset because he thought that he should have been there for her, protecting her.

_It's better that you weren't there. She's already uncomfortable with her feelings for you. _I thought, unsure if I was helping or not.

_Thanks for watching over her. _Collin sighed.

_No problem. _I smiled a small, wolf smile. _She just needs some space right now. _

_**Elly's Point of View**_

One afternoon, both Brady and Seth had patrol at the same time, so I was forced to wait for them in my room, **alone**. When I realized what the aching sensation in my stomach was, I was so shocked that I almost phased into a wolf right then and there.

I felt so lonely without my best friends.

My two best friends who were like mini-suns, in their own ways. Brady, always joking and lightening the atmosphere with his teasing and playfulness.  
Ever cheerful, somewhat annoying, inquisitive, happy Seth who always stuck up for the Cullens, despite what our brothers think.

The ache for Collin was even worse when Brady and Seth weren't there.

I tried to curl up tight into a ball, which was almost impossible for me to do with my new, large, curvy, and beautiful body. I felt empty, even though I had eaten quite a large lunch.

I wasn't used to missing anyone, or being lonely. I was used to reveling in the absence of other human beings, happy to be alone.

But now, in my new life, I desperately missed Collin, Brady, Seth, and Kade. I missed the others as well, but I didn't feel as close to them.

When Embry walked into my room to find me crying, he asked what was wrong, looking nervous and quite uncomfortable, to be honest.  
I still didn't know how to act around my brothers - the ones related to me by blood anyway. That was mainly because Embry had been, according to my other brothers, acting oddly lately. Sam was easier to be around, mostly because he was wherever Emily was, but it still felt strange that my Alpha, who I was forced to obey, was my half-brother.

I didn't really know how to respond. After a few long, awkward moments, I finally settled with, "I don't know."  
I whispered in a hoarse voice, and lied through my teeth for the first time in a long while.

One of the upsides of Sam not letting me patrol was that no one else was inside my head, seeing everything that I thought and felt.

"I'm going to Port Angeles," Embry said, not wanting to push the subject."You'll be okay?"

I nodded. Embry looked sideways at me, evidently not trusting my evaluation. Then he shrugged, waved goodbye and walked out to his truck.

"Where's he going?" Seth asked with his usual curiosity, not surprising me as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Port Angeles," I sighed, " Well, that's what he said .."

We exchanged glances, and I didn't need to hear Seth and Brady's thoughts to know that they were thinking about Embry's continued string of odd behavior.

"Hey, Ells," Brady said with a grin as he beckoned to me from the living room, "Come out of your cave for a little while. Let's go to the beach."

I smiled in reply as I followed Seth and Brady out the front door. Neither of them had a car and I couldn't drive, so we phased into wolves, them carrying their clothes tied to their legs, and me carrying a bag of my clothes in my mouth.

_Didn't Sam say something to you about running patrol? _Paul (the idiot) asked. With his voice echoing inside my mind I realized that I had missed him. I had actually missed Paul.

Oh dear God. What was the world coming to?

_You didn't miss me? _Quil asked in a mock-offended tone of... thought?

_I missed all of my brothers. And I'm not running patrol. I'm going to the beach. _I replied.

To prove my point, Brady and Seth phased then, both laughing at some stupid joke.

I rolled my eyes.  
_Apparently my choice in best friends sucks. _

_Hey! _Seth growled at me playfully.

_Almost as much as my choice in friends. _Brady joked, and Seth just huffed.

I grinned wolfishly and sprinted towards the beach, loving the exhilarating feel of the wind against my fur and the ground beneath my feet.

The only downside to being a wolf was the voices and images inside my head. Much as I had missed my brothers, I was already a little annoyed at them. Couldn't Paul control his thoughts for two seconds? Or at least think about something other than Rachel's... skills ?

_You're one to be talking. _Paul said, his thoughts switching from Rachel to me. Thank god.

_Huh? _Quil asked, oblivious as ever. Had he ever, even once, in his life paid proper attention to someone else who wasn't Claire?

_She's thinking about Collin. _Paul said in the most annoying sing-song way.

_Actually, she's trying to decide how she feels about him and whether or not she should be panicking about the whole situation. _Brady corrected.

_She's thinking the same things about us. _Seth grinned, as I sighed frustratedly at their running commentry on my thoughts.

_She can hear you. _I interrupted their conversation about me.

Brady stuck his tongue out at me and swerved to the right with Seth, heading off to phase back.

I ducked into a small grove of trees and vines, ignoring the teasing and rude remarks that this awarded me, and quickly phased back, surprised by the ease of the switch. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't had trouble phasing into a wolf either. Strange. Maybe it was because I had missed this so much, the freedom, my wolf body, and strangely, my brothers.

"Elly? We're waiting!" Came Seth's voice from the direction of the beach. No doubt he and Brady had been waiting impatiently while I dressed, not wanting to stumble upon me.

I was wearing a one piece swim suit with a long sleeve shirt and pants over top as I walked towards where I could hear my brothers' hearts beating.

"Aren't you too warm?" Seth, who was wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, asked as he saw my long attire.

I shrugged.  
Of course, at my new found temperature, I was overheated in all my layers, but I could absolutely not wear shorts or a t-shirt. Not with all the people that were bound to be at the beach on such a gorgeous afternoon, as it was sunny and warm, almost hot out- a rarity in La Push.

"Well then, let's go!"" Seth said with his usual huge smile.

I laughed quietly, following him and Brady to the beach. We emerged from the trees onto First Beach. Like I had thought, the place was crowded with tourists and locals, all enjoying the sunny warmth. I wasn't sure exactly what Brady and Seth wanted to do, so I wasn't surprised when they didn't race straight for the water. Instead they turned to me.

"Hey, Elly," Brady said, "we're going to go cliff dive. You can come with us if you want."

"Jump off a cliff?" I asked, unsure if he was serious.

"Yup," Brady grinned and his teasing and jokes began once more, "I'm not nearly as fragile as you. I'm much more durable."

"Superman," a familiar voice said with a snicker and I whirled around. Collin.

"Exactly," Brady said, satisfaction evident in his voice. Obviously he had not heard of sarcasm.

""C'mon, Elly, it'll be fun!"" Seth tried to convince me as he started to jog towards a path leading to the cliffs.

I nodded my head, ever so slightly, and followed Seth, my eyes still on Collin. It felt so good to be near him again, like I was whole again. But it also felt awkward, because I was scared. I knew that I didn't need to be scared, I knew that I was strong now, and that Collin could never hurt me, but that didn't stop my inner abused-girl from quivering in terror.

"Now that you're invulnerable and all," Brady teased as Seth jumped off the edge of the cliff, sailing through the air and into the freezing water below, "are you ready to jump off a cliff?"

"And into water," Collin added, not trying to suppress the grin forming on his lips.

I nodded, smiling at their jokes. This was how Collin and Brady had been before I'd joined the pack.

"Think you can swim all the way back to shore, Elly?" Brady continued his teasing and pestering with words that might have hurt, if he wasn't saying them in a gentle tone with a huge smile.

"You should be worrying about being able to float after all that food you ate this morning, not about whether or not I can swim," I retorted, referring to the fact that Brady and Seth seemed determined to eat the Calls' out of house and home.

Brady simply rolled his eyes and started to run towards the cliff edge, which was a few yards away. He leaped into the air with undeniable grace, hurtling forwards a few more yards before starting to plummet towards the ocean. I wasn't worried about him though, because I could hear his loud whoop of victory as he somersaulted through the air towards the ocean.

And then it was my turn. I turned my head to look at Collin, nervous about what I was doing. Which was jumping off a cliff for recreation. Smart, right?

"It's effortless," Collin reassured me, "Beyond easy. Besides none of us would ever let you get hurt."

His voice burned with fervor and remorse when he said that, and I felt a guilt that did not belong to me swell in my gut. Collin was feeling guilty?

"Why are you feeling guilty?" The words slipped out before I could stop myself. I was never that forward with anyone.

"What?" Collin blinked, looking bewildered.

"Why are you feeling guilty?" I whispered again, staring at my toes.

"Oh," Collin whispered back. I glanced up at him through my hair and was surprised by what I saw. Collin was staring at his feet too, but I was really startled when I realized that Collin, who had once towered over me like a skyscraper, was only a few inches taller than me.

""Because you almost died,"" Collin's eyes closed and a look of pure misery and anguish crossed his face, ""and – and I couldn't save you."

"It's not your fault," I said in a small voice. I wasn't looking at my feet anymore. Actually, I couldn't tear my eyes off his beautiful, rugged face. Collin's eyes were still closed and tears were leaking out of them.

Before my brain caught up with me, I had stepped forward and brushed the tears off his cheeks.

"Elly! Collin!" came the shout from the bottom of the cliff. Seth's voice was impatient and I could clearly hear the sound of Brady clapping a hand over Seth's wide mouth.

And, just like that, everything had changed. Everything.

Collin stayed still, his eyes fluttering open to stare at me.

""We're coming!"" Collin yelled down to Seth and Brady.

I heard a smack, and then a muffled and pained groan from the bottom of the cliff, probably coming from Seth.

I smiled and walked hesitantly towards the cliff edge, shedding my jeans and long sleeve as I went. Then, with Collin's eyes still fixated on me, I leaped over the edge.

As I plummeted to the icy waters that couldn't make me feel cold, my mind raced.

I had been wrong to stay away from Collin before.

Absolutely,completely, totally in the wrong.

Collin was still all torn up about my brush with death, and instead on consoling my imprint, I'd made him feel even worse. To top it off, in avoiding him, I had robbed him not only of my company and my love, but also of his friends, who were my friends as well now.

In that moment where my hand had wiped the tears from his cheek, I had discovered a revelation, so sudden and unexpected that it had been like turning on a light in a pitch black room.

I loved Collin with all of my heart.  
I could never leave him and I would always need him.  
Collin was my imprint and I was his.  
And nothing else mattered, nor would ever matter.

The little abused girl inside of me had shut up and started to wither away.

_I love Collin, _was my last thought as I hit the water right next to my two best friends.

Seth had a broken nose like Brady had punched him for being insensitive (which was probably the case), and Brady was glaring at Seth, who was pretending to look innocent. My brothers.

**A/N: What do ya think?**


	9. Bonfire

**My New Life Chapter 9: Bonfire**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. (This is totally unnecessary by now.)**

**A/N: Sorry that this took so long! Getting ready to go to a new school is a lot of work and I have a ton of tests I should be studying for... but instead I'm doing this. Aah, well. I won't fail anything major. (I hope.) Anyway, enjoy!**

"Elly! Brady! Collin!" Seth yelled from the beach. His cell phone- a gift from the Cullens, which meant it stunk to high heaven- was in his hand and he was waving us over as the tourists stared at the large, handsome, and loud native.

Brady, Collin, and I were swimming in the ocean, the cold temperature of the water not affecting our warm skin in the least.

A bucket's worth of water slammed into my face as Brady tried to throw water at Collin and missed. Brady's aim could really use some improvement, because Collin was at least five feet from me.

"Brady," I groaned once I could breathe again, "Would you grow up?"

"Done," he grinned, "I'm taller than you. I'm the size of a twenty year old. And I'm only fourteen."

"Come on!" Seth shouted at us, "Emily made dinner and Jake's gonna be there with Nessie!"

This news made me groan slightly- I hated the vampire stink and could not get used to it- and made Collin and Brady race for the shore, eager to inhale the food that Emily always provided.

I followed them, keeping to a human pace as I pushed through the water.

"Everyone else in the pack is there!" Seth said, genuinely excited at this.

"Except Leah," Brady muttered, knowing that we could hear him perfectly well.

"And all the imprints!" Seth continued, not at all put off by Brady's comment.

That made Collin look at me, apprehension written in every line of his face. His body was tensed and he seemed ready to run in the opposite direction of me if necessary. He knew, or thought he knew, that the peace of the afternoon was fragile. He was wrong.

"I haven't seen everyone all together before," I said quietly. I was mostly over whispering everything I said, but I still didn't like to be loud.

"This'll be fun," Seth said. His phone started ringing and I raised my eyebrows. The ring tone was "Woman Like Me" by Beyonce.

Brady and Collin were sniggering as Seth answered. He listened for a minute and then replied in the affirmative. He snapped his phone shut and turned to explain to us.

But we had heard his phone conversation- there was a change of plans. We were having a bonfire on the beach with all the elders and the entire pack and imprints instead of going to Emily's- and Brady was ready to laugh at Seth's expense.

"Nice ring tone, Seth," Brady said, "maybe Elly's rubbing off on you a little too much."

Seth grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "Thanks so much, Emmett," and looked at me with pleading in his eyes.

The bonfire started before the sun had set and it was pretty much in full swing by the time I arrived with Seth, Brady, and Collin.

I stared with wide eyes at all the people laughing, goofing off, talking, and generally having fun. There weren't that many people really. Just the entire pack.

The entire pack wasn't actually one pack, though it would be soon. Currently, it was two; Jake's pack and Sam's pack. There was no tension between the two and whenever Jake had to go away with the Cullens- like he had been when I had arrived- Sam became Alpha of the entire pack. I knew that Sam was going to retire from being both Alpha and werewolf so that he could get older with his wife soon. He just wasn't quite sure when.

I suspected that it would be around the time that Emily (who was a month or two pregnant) got closer to giving birth. Then the pack would be one again and Jake would be the only Alpha.

"Seth!" A little girl, who I knew was Nessie, Jake's imprint and a half-vampire, called out, a smile on her adorable features. How anyone could not do as she said was beyond me.

Seth grinned and left my side to swoop Nessie up into a hug. Brady was next to desert me as he raced over to where all of the boys were gathered in a circle, wrestling and betting on the outcomes. I glanced at them and rolled my eyes when I saw Paul and Jake in the center of the circle, sweating bullets as they strained against each other. Idiots.

Collin glanced sideways at me, his eyebrows pulled together into a frown.

"Collin, c'mere!" One of my brothers shouted.

I smiled at Collin as he looked between me and the boys who wanted him to join in. Obviously judging the emotions of mine that he could feel in his gut and the look on my face, Collin smiled back and walked over to my brothers as they started to argue about who had won.

As if it wasn't obvious. Jake, of course, had won, because Paul's temper had gotten the better of him. Like always.

The only one of my pack-brothers, beside Seth, who wasn't joining in the fighting and betting was Sam. He was watching with amused eyes, one hand on the small of Emily's back as she bustled about preparing the food for the bonfire. Next to Sam were the elders.

I hadn't met any of them yet, so they all scared me. Especially the tough-looking woman with the short, severely cut hair.

"Hi, Sam," I said in my quiet voice, perching on the edge of the log next to my big brother.

Sam looked down at me, but the distance between his eyes and mine was not nearly so great as it had been before. Sam was six foot six, easy, and had been as long as I had known him. I was the one who had changed. Where I had been only five foot four before, I was now at least six feet tall.

"You okay, Elly?" Sam asked in his deep rumbling voice.

I grinned, "Apparently I can jump off cliffs and not get hurt at all, now."

"Seth convinced you?" Emily sounded surprised as she turned to look at me, ceasing for the moment to lay out the impressive spread of bonfire foods (hot dogs, marshmallows, chips, dip, and sodas).

"I wasn't really given a choice," I smiled at the way she knew the boys so well, despite not having the advantage of being inside their heads. Emily was the mother of the pack, just as I was a sister of the pack.

"You were!" Seth said, bounding over to me, done with talking to little Nessie.

"And if I had said no, you and Brady would have wheedled and teased and coaxed and annoyed me until I said yes out of pure exasperation. Then, when I tried to back out, you would've pushed me off the edge."

"Seth would never," the strong looking woman said, "I raised him better than that."

At the same time, Seth protested, "Collin would've killed us before he let us push you off a cliff. And he would've stopped us from pestering you into agreement. 'Sides, cliff-jumping helped. It made you talk to Collin again."

I reached out and smacked the back of his head. Ever-happy kid that he was (forget the fact that he was older than me, he acted younger) Seth could still be really insensitive sometimes.

Seth looked shocked by my touch, but the smack didn't make me panic. It was natural, like play-fighting with Paul when I was a wolf.

But, being Seth, he got over the shock within a second and went back to his normal self.

"Seth!" Emily scolded as she brandished a serving spoon at him. Seth's hand, which had been about to take a handful of chips, froze and then retreated.

I laughed, used to Seth's antics. "Haven't you eaten enough of Embry's mom's food today?"

"Seth, have you been eating Mrs. Call out of house and home again?" The strong woman said in a stern tone. That seemed to make Seth realize that I didn't know the elders.

"Elly was making breakfast."

By "making breakfast" he meant turning the toast into pieces of black coal and setting the fire alarms in the house off.

"Elly, this is my mom, Sue," Seth continued, "and this is Quil Sr., Quil's dad, and Billy, Jacob and Rachel's dad."

I smiled tentatively, shifting my body so I was half hidden behind Seth. My cheeks were a flaming red and my hair had swung forward to hide my eyes again. I was just as timid around these new people as I had been around everyone else.

"Aw, Elly," Seth muttered, craning his neck around to look at me, "do I have to go get Brady?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why would you have to do that?"

"'Cause he always makes you laugh. Remember? He was the first one you actually talked to."

"No, Seth. My memory was wiped clean. I don't remember that." I said sarcastically.

Seth ignored my comment. He had gotten what he wanted, I wasn't hiding behind my hair anymore.

I sat down on a log, more out of habit than an actual need to sit. I didn't get tired easily anymore. Though I was always, _always_, hungry. My stomach grumbled loudly, as if to prove my point. In reply, Seth's stomach rumbled.

"Hungry?" Rachel asked, taking a seat next to me.

Seth and I replied in unison, "Always."

"Hi, Elly!" Little four year old Claire called to me, smiling widely. She had just returned with Kim and Rachel from a trip to look at a tidal pool or two. I was surprised that Quil had let her go without him.

I knew how hard my brothers found it to be away from their imprints. It was the worst feeling in the world, like you were missing your other half. It didn't matter what happened to you, only what happened to them.

"Hi, Claire," I replied, quietly.

Claire bounced up to me, smiling adorably. Her black hair was in pigtails and she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, both grass stained and wet.

"Quil!" Claire cried in happiness as Quil swung her up into his arms.

The wrestling was history, now that the rest of the imprints had returned.

I noticed that, though everyone else seemed happy enough to gather round the fire to talk until the food was ready, Embry was lagging behind, his expression vacant. Something was wrong with my brother.

"You owe me ten bucks!" Jared told Paul.

"Can't believe Embry lost against Brady," Paul grumbled to himself.

That made me even more worried. I stood up and walked quietly, my footsteps didn't make any noise at all, to where Embry was standing off to the side, staring into the forest.

"Embry?" I asked quietly, "You okay?"

Embry didn't reply, his mind most obviously elsewhere.

"Embry?" I said in a sing song voice. Nothing.

"Embry!" I said louder.

"Yeah?"

"Come sit with me," I said and I would've tugged on his hand if I hadn't known that that was likely to make me phase. It was a reaction to human skin that I couldn't stop.

Embry just continued to stare into the forest.

"Embry!" I threw my arms into the air, exasperated with my brother. I knew from my brothers' memories (and my own experiences) that this was not how Embry normally acted. What was up with him?

Embry wasn't paying any attention to me anymore. So I shoved him. It was surprisingly easy, and I didn't panic. I was beginning to see a pattern. If I was trying (or mock trying) to hurt my brothers I wasn't affected by the touch of their skin on mine. That was good since they often made me want to punch them.

He stumbled forward and, finally, paid attention to something other than the big, moss-covered trees.

Embry turned to look at me, his eyebrows raised. I raised my eyebrows in reply. What was going on with him? Embry just blushed and stared determinedly at the ground.

"You two are so alike its scary," Seth muttered under his breath. He hadn't moved from the log on the opposite side of the bonfire, but I still heard him.

"Except Elly isn't spazzing out," someone whispered under his breath.

"C'mon, Embry," I said, walking back to sit down next to Collin.

Embry sat on my other side and I ignored the scandalized look Brady gave me.

"After all the time I've been there for you, you just abandon me?" He asked in a tone that seemed to contain fake tears. He wasn't serious though. Brady was rarely truly serious.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes."

Brady sniffed dramatically,."I think I'm gonna cry!"

I turned to Claire, who was sitting on Quil's lap, right next to Brady. "Pinch him for me, will you?"

"Sure!" Claire said with a smile as she reached out and pinched Brady, who winced even though she couldn't possibly have hurt him.

"Would you mind pinching Quil?" I tried, not expecting any results.

Claire frowned. Then she shook her head decisively.

"Thanks, Claire-Bear," Quil said. Claire grinned up at Quil and Quil grinned back.

The instinct of an imprinter. Your imprint came first, you second. If I wanted something from, let's say, Jared, and he said no, then I would go to Kim. Jared could never refuse Kim anything. None of my brothers could refuse their imprints.

Emily called out for the girls to get food and Claire, Rachel, Kim, and Nessie stood up to get first dibs on the food. I didn't stand because I knew that I could eat just as much as any of my brothers and I could win a battle against them for the food. Now that I was one of them, I didn't mind being part of the jockeying that happened every mealtime. It was part of being a member of the pack.

And I could shove them out of my way if I needed to.

Once they were roasting hot dogs over the fire, everyone else swarmed the table, getting hot dogs and sticks so we could roast them over the bonfire.

Everyone was laughing and smiling and talking as we ate. I ate five hot dogs, a bag of chips, and a liter of soda. But that was nothing compared to most of my brothers. Collin ate at least ten hot dogs, three bags of chips, and several liters of soda.

Once everyone was done eating, an atmosphere of calm, relaxed sleepiness enveloped the group. Nessie and Claire were fast asleep in Jake and Quil's arms. Emily was close to sleep as well, her belly bulging the tiniest bit under Sam's hands. Kim and Rachel were yawning and all of my brothers were splayed out, stuffed to breaking point with the delicious food. Embry and I were the exceptions. Embry had barely touched his food and had kept whipping his head around to look at the forest. I asked, several times, if everything was okay and he only grunted in reply.

The cloud of yawns and closing eyes lifted as Billy began to speak. His low, majestic voice told the stories of our tribe and our ancestors. The words pulled me in until I felt like I was there, watching what had happened to my forebears. I saw the Taha Aki merge with the wolf, saw the third wife sacrifice herself for her husband and child. I saw the fights and the battles against vampires, won and lost.

The stories were beautiful and I was surprised when they ended by how dark it had gotten. While they were being told, I had completely lost track of the time and place. When the legends ended, the magical aroma disappeared and we were just a bunch of people gathered around a bonfire, having fun. I yawned and glanced at the watch on Kim's wrist. It was past midnight. The gathering was obviously over as everyone stood up and started to walk towards the cars and trucks awaiting them. I looked to Embry, who was staring intently at the fire, his forehead furrowed.

"Em?" I asked.

Embry looked up at me, his eyes sad. "Let's go home, Elly."

I was just starting to nod my head in agreement when a cell phone rung. It was Seth's phone, but he had changed the ring tone.

"Hello?" He answered it.

"_Is Embry with you?"_ Mrs. Call asked in an ice cold voice.

Embry and I winced in the same second.

"Umm," Seth looked at Embry with raised eyebrows, probably wondering whether or not to tell the truth. Embry nodded, a resigned look on his face, "Yeah. He is."

"_Can I speak to him, please?"_ Mrs. Call said through gritted teeth.

Maybe I shouldn't go home with Embry.

Seth handed Embry the phone, wincing with sympathy.

"Mom?" Embry asked.

"_Embry Call! Where are you? Why aren't you in your room? You are still grounded, young man." _Mrs. Call practically screamed.

Embry didn't say anything.

"_Get back here this instant!" _Mrs. Call yelled before hanging up.

Everyone was watching Embry with sympathy. I could tell from the pull in my gut that Collin was empathizing- his parents didn't know either and he was constantly in trouble for sneaking out to patrol and attend pack gatherings. He was probably in worse trouble because he hadn't left my side for the three days I had been in a coma.

Embry looked at me and said, "You coming, Elly, or are you going to stay somewhere else tonight?"

There wasn't really anywhere else I could stay. I suppose I could stay in the guest room at Sam and Emily's, but I wasn't going to just abandon Embry like that.

"I'm coming with you."

"Wait a few minutes so I can calm her down a little?" Embry asked.

I nodded, because if that was what he thought was best then I was going to trust him. But I would only wait a few minutes. I knew how angry Mrs. Call got when she found out that Embry had snuck out again. Her wrath was a furious tempest that Embry braved on a regular basis.

Embry set off into the trees, probably phasing so he could get there faster.

After a few minutes of helping Emily clean up the trash (there wasn't a speck of food left despite the fact that Emily had brought enough food for an army) I waved goodbye to everyone and set off into the woods. I was planning to phase back and run to Embry's house, but Collin joined me.

"Mind if I walk with you, Elly?" Collin asked in a quiet voice, obviously trying not to startle me as he appeared from the shadows of the forest.

I shook my head. Collin's house was near enough to Embry's so that he wouldn't be going out of his way. We walked silently through the dark trees.

"What are you going to do when you get back?" Collin asked suddenly, interrupting the calm and quiet of the forest.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by the question. Got back where?

"When you get back to Embry's, are you going to sneak in or something?"

"Of course not," I said, startled that he would think that, "I'm going to say that Embry was with me and we were talking to Sam about family stuff and we lost track of time. Simple."

Collin smiled, "It's hard, you know, having to lie to your family all of the time."

I did know. But from being inside Embry's head and from being there when he got caught, not from personal experience.

When we were almost to Embry's house- I could see the light spilling out of the windows through the trees- Collin stopped and I stopped too, unsure why we were stopping.

Collin was scrutinizing me, trying to figure out whether or not it was safe to say what he wanted to say.

"Thanks, Collin," I said instead, "for everything." For caring for me, for fighting for me when I wasn't even fighting for myself, for... loving me. Because, hard as I tried, I could no longer deny that that was one of the feelings swirling in my gut. One of Collin's feelings and one of mine, too, he loved me and I loved him.

I wondered if everyone experienced this inability to say three words. Three words was all it would take, and I couldn't say them. I couldn't force them out of my mouth and into the air. So, instead, I hoped with all of my heart that Collin could feel what I was feeling.

_**Collin's Point of View**_

"Thanks, Collin, for everything." Elly was so beautiful, her cheeks a shade or two darker with her blush, her gentle black curls for once not flattened by the rain, her wide eyes and delicate nose pointed towards the ground. One of her hands was curled absentmindedly around the bottom of her shirt and the other rested on her thigh, her fingers curled inwards. Her heart was beating too fast and all I wanted to do was take her face in my hands and kiss her. Kiss her delicate, dark lips.

But I couldn't. I couldn't even touch her cheek as I had when she was dying. Now that she was no longer in a coma, now that she was healthy again, I couldn't get too close. I couldn't touch her, because that would elicit the instinctual, for her at least, response. Kissing her, like I so wanted to do, would bring the memories of her past to the front of her mind. She would react, phasing in an instant or going into a panic attack.

I wanted to show Elly my love for her by kissing her, but, because I loved and cared for her, I couldn't touch her.

As I sorted all this out I felt a surge of emotions in my gut, the place where Elly's emotions registered and mixed with my own. The largest, most potent emotion was love. The others didn't matter, because that was all I could feel. Elly's love for me.

I knew that she couldn't say the words out loud, not yet, and I didn't expect her to. We had come so far in only one day. So I said goodbye before I did something rash.

"Goodnight, Elly. See you tomorrow," I hoped the words weren't an incorrect assumption.

"Night, Collin," Elly whispered, glancing up at my face before looking back down at her bare, dirty feet.

I faded into the trees on my way back to my house, a grin lighting up my entire face. If Brady saw me he would tease me until the end of the century.

"Hey, Collin," Brady said.

I muttered, "Think of the devil and the devil shall appear."

Brady only smiled wider. "C'mon. I'm sleeping over at your house tonight. Sam says I'm your cover."

I nodded in agreement as we walked into my backyard.

**A/N: What do you think? **


	10. Parents and Pregnancies

**My New Life Chapter 10: Parents and Pregnancies**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer hence I do not own the Twilight Saga. I do, however own Elly. And Embry's imprint- ahem. **

**A/N: This is a kind of filler chapter- I'm in the middle of a ton of tests for school and getting my internet replaced. Anyway, I want to know what you think I should write next- a story about Embry and his imprint, Leah and her imprint, Seth and his imprint, or Brady and his imprint? **

I walked into Embry's house to find him standing like a statue while his mom yelled at him. When she saw me, the yells died away.

"Sorry it took me so long. Emily and I had to finish cleaning up," I said to Embry.

"You were with him?" Mrs. Call asked in a freezing cold voice.

"Yeah. We were at Sam's, talking about some..." I glanced at her wondering whether this would help or hinder the situation, "family stuff. Mostly about my future. We lost track of time. I'm sorry."

"Oh," Mrs. Call frowned, "Go to bed, Embry."

Embry nodded and we walked to the end of the hall where the doors to both of our bedrooms were.

"Thanks," he whispered in my ear.

I smiled at him and went into my room, putting on my pajamas that Emily had bought me (we had returned all the clothes that no longer fit and gotten ones that did fit).

_Have you imprinted on anyone, Embry? _I asked out of the blue. Embry and I were both in wolf form, running towards Sam and Emily's and breakfast. Embry hadn't wanted to phase, but I had asked if he could so that I could phase as well- another one of Sam's rules was that I wasn't allowed to phase by myself.

_No. _Embry thought defiantly, but in his thoughts I caught a few snippets of images. A pair of bright green eyes, a length of silky, strawberry blonde hair, and a gusty sigh.

_Then what was that? _I demanded.

_A girl... I wish I had imprinted on. _Embry thought, his mind fading out as he phased back.

I cursed the fact that we had arrived at such a inconvenient time. Because his last thought, about wishing he had imprinted on her, felt (or sounded, however you want to put it) a lie to me.

I was sure that he had imprinted on her. So why was he keeping it a secret? Everyone else had had no qualms about sharing (usually too much) about the objects of their imprinting. Maybe he could share his reluctance to share with Paul and Jared.

Embry wouldn't want to phase again, not while I was around. Which meant I'd have to find out what was wrong with him when we were human and I couldn't hear his thoughts. Darn. That was going to be so much harder.

I phased back and pulled on the clothes that I had tied around my leg. Then I walked out of the thicket of bushes and to Emily's small house.

"Elly!" Seth cried, a grin lighting up his face. I swear, he was always happy.

"Ells, whatcha doing?" Brady asked, coming over to grin at me.

"Why aren't you in there, bugging Emily until she gives you something to eat?" I asked.

"'Cause Sam's in a really bad mood. Emily's throwing up all over the bathroom and he told us to beat it." Brady said, his face tragic.

"Imagine what he'll be like when she's giving birth," Seth said, the expression on his face making it clear that he was not looking forward to that occasion.

"Neither of you have ever gone through that kind of pain and worry. When you do, you'll sympathize," Collin's voice said from the doorway into the house.

I spun to look at him, my lips automatically pulling up into a grin. The night before I had used my supernatural hearing to listen to Collin as he slept in his house that was just down the road from Embry's. It had comforted me to know that I could hear him, but it was even better to be able to see him. I could only imagine the level of happiness and safety I would gain with his arms around me, because I was still afraid. Not of Collin, and not of any of my pack-brothers, but of the memories that resurfaced every time human skin touched mine.

"What's with Embry?" Seth asked quietly.

Seth, Brady, and Collin had all come closer to me so that we were only a few feet apart and I could hear the near whisper of the question.

I turned to look in the direction that Seth was looking and found Embry, staring into the forest yet again.

"I think he imprinted..." I mumbled.

All three sets of eyes swiveled to me.

"Really?" Seth demanded.

At the same moment Brady asked, "Who?"

Collin just looked at my face, evaluating the information he could gain from my eyes and the feelings in his gut. "He didn't tell you anything, did he?"

I shook my head, "I asked him when we were phased and he said that he hadn't, but then I caught a couple flashes of images of a girl."

"Score!" Brady said with a grin. I rolled my eyes. I was beginning to feel sorry for anyone he might imprint on.

"He said, about the images, that it was a girl that he wish he had imprinted on. It felt like he was lying, though."

We watched Embry for several more minutes, not moving or talking.

"C'mon, let's go see if we can get someone to make us food," Collin said, smiling at me.

At the word 'food' both Brady and Seth's bellies started to rumble.

"I'm starving," Seth said.

"You don't even know what that means." I snapped. Starvation was a touchy subject with me.

"He wasn't thinking, Elly," Collin said quietly, soothingly.

"Sorry, Seth," I said, conscious that my cheeks were bright red and that I couldn't tear my gaze off the ground.

"'S okay." Seth said, exhibiting, once again, the reason that he was one of my favorite brothers.

Nothing, _nothing_, could disrupt his calm happiness. Sure, he was really annoying a lot of the time and I often wanted to steal his optimism from him, but it was nice when I said something I didn't mean.

Brady and Seth grinned at me and then raced off together, towards the front of the house where I could hear the rest of the pack and the imprints laughing, talking, and goofing off.

"Embry?" I asked, turning to look at my brother. He was still staring into the trees, like he was trying to see through them. His face was full of pain and he looked the unhappiest I had ever seen him.

He didn't even twitch when I called out his name.

I frowned and moved closer. He only realized that I was talking to him when I waved my hand in front of his face.

"Coming," he mumbled, still staring into the trees like they were hiding something from him.

"So where we gonna go then?" Paul demanded, his arms crossed. He was fuming.

Sam had downright refused to let Emily make a meal for us. He had insisted that she needed to rest and sleep.

Then the argument had started. None of my brothers had enough money to pay for their huge appetites at a restaurant and none of them could cook. No one knew anyone who would be willing to cook for all of us.

The first people to come up were, of course, my brother's imprints. Claire, for obvious reasons, couldn't cook. Kim had a cold and she couldn't really cook anyway. Rachel... well, no one really brought her up once she gave us all a death glare. I came next.

"How 'bout Elly?" Jared suggested.

"No way." Brady and Seth said together.

They'd already experienced my deadly attempts at cooking.

It devolved from there.

In the next half an hour I thanked, well, whoever was listening, that my brothers' imprints were there. If not, every single one of them would have been fighting, tooth and claw, with each other. As it was, there was an awful lot of shouting. Lesson: never ever keep one of my brothers from his meal.

It became quite clear that no one was going to agree on what to do for breakfast, so everyone went to wherever they called home. Or wherever their imprints called home.

I didn't really have a home besides the Call's and I already knew that there was no food in the house. Okay, so there was food in the house, it just required preparation before it was edible. And any preparations I did would ruin the food.

Brady had patrol and Seth was going to visit the Cullens with Jacob. Embry had vanished as soon as the fighting about food started. Sam was definitely out. That left me with Collin.

"You hungry?" he asked, pointlessly.

"Of course, silly," I smiled at Collin, my heart beating faster as we walked to the road.

It was barely drizzling, not enough to make me wish I had a rain jacket. Collin started to walk down the road and I followed him, knowing he wouldn't take me somewhere I shouldn't be.

"If you want a good breakfast..." Collin trailed off, biting his bottom lip.

I frowned, my eyebrows furrowing as I tried to figure out why one of the feelings swirling in my gut was anxiety. Why would Collin be anxious?

"My mom can give us some food," he whispered to his feet.

I was incredibly glad that it took him a few seconds to look up at me because that gave me time to get my expression under control.

Because what he was saying, or trying not to say, actually, was that he wanted me to meet his parents. That terrified me more than any bully who had tried to hurt me. What if they didn't like me? What if they were mad at me because Collin hadn't been home for three days- the three days he'd spent with me- and they thought it was my fault? What if...

But that didn't matter. My own feelings and fears were beside the point. If Collin wanted me to meet his parents, I would meet his parents.

Looking at my face, Collin quickly backtracked, "Or we could go somewhere else if you want. Embry's mom has plenty of groceries-"

"Col, it's fine." I interrupted Collin.

He watched me as we walked in silence down the road that led to Collin's house. I just enjoyed the scent of wet grass (such an unusual scent in La Push. Not!) and the damp drizzle on my face.

Just before we were going to enter his house, a small two story white house with a big yard, Collin stopped me.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm not making you."

"I figured a few things out in the last twenty-four hours. I know what I want." I really hoped Collin knew what I meant, because that hadn't come out of my mouth the way I wanted it to.

"You know that my parents don't know, right?"

"That didn't make any sense at all."

"My parents don't know about the pack and everything." Collin whispered, his eyes darting towards his house.

I nodded, "C'mon. I'm hungry."

And terrified witless.

Collin opened the door and walked in. I hesitated for a fraction of a second then followed him.

**A/N: Gee, I wonder what's gonna happen. Hmm... Guess I'll just have to find out. **


	11. Little Brothers Named Kevin

**My New Life Chapter 11: Little Brothers Named Kevin**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer hence I do not own this universe. **

**A/N: I wanted to post this yesterday but... there's a little thing called 'life' that keeps getting in my way. Sigh. Anyway, read!**

Collin opened the door and walked in. I hesitated for a fraction of a second then followed him. What was I getting myself into?

I could feel the beginnings of a panic attack- I'd had more than enough of them to be able to recognize an approaching one, even if it was approaching slowly- and I felt too hot. My hands were sweaty as I wiped them surreptitiously on my long sleeve shirt. My jeans suddenly felt much too warm. I was barely able to keep my breaths from becoming gasps.

I knew only a tiny bit about Collin's family. His mom, Connie Black, was one of Billy Black's sisters. His dad was Kevin Littlesea. He had a little brother, Kevin Jr., who was around ten.

And that was all I knew. Before my phasing, I had been too terrified to speak to him and afterward I had almost died and then avoided him. That hadn't exactly left much room to discuss family, especially since my blood family was such a difficult subject for me. It would be for anyone who's mom had died and who's dad was... irresponsible.

"Mom?" Collin called loud enough to wake the entire household if they weren't already awake.

I looked around. We were in a mudroom, you know, one of those small rooms with tiled floors where you take off your shoes and hang up your coat. There was a gray door that was open, revealing the entire downstairs. Right in front of the mudroom door was a dining table and there was a living room to the left of that. To the right of the dining table was the stairs and the kitchen. No one was in sight.

"Yes, Collin?" A female voice asked as a woman exited a small room and entered the kitchen, canned goods in her hands. I assumed the small room was a pantry. "Breakfast is cooking. Go tell your brother that it's time for him to come down here."

"Umm, Mom, I have a guest," Collin said awkwardly.

He walked out of the mudroom and to the bottom of the stairs so that she could see me.

"Oh, hello," Collin's mom looked at me for a minute before attempting a smile, "Collin, you could've told me that you were bringing home guests. I would've changed," she gestured to her clothes with one hand. She was wearing old pants and a t-shirt that were obviously pajamas with her apron over top.

I wanted to say that Collin hadn't warned me either, or I would've at least put on cleaner clothes.

"We were going to hang out with Brady and Seth, but it turned out that they had plans," Collin explained, the half lie floating easily out of his mouth.

Collin's mom frowned at her son, looking like she was trying to send him a telepathic message.

"Elly, this is my mom. Mom, this is Elly," Collin said.

"Call me Connie," Connie said with another, only slightly forced, smile. I smiled very, very slightly in return.

I studied her face for a second. I could see Collin in her features, her pointed nose, her dark brown eyes, and her thin lips. I could also see a great amount of surprise and bewilderment at my appearance. Collin had, most obviously, not bothered to tell his mom about me.

_Probably because he was too busy watching you go into a coma and nearly die, _a snide voice inside my head said.

It would've bugged me more if I hadn't already had a pack of boys' thoughts running through my head.

"Nice to meet you," I whispered, my usual terror of new people and my nervousness at meeting Collin's parents colliding and making me even more incapacitated than usual.

"Collin, go get your brother, the food's ready," Connie said, breaking the tense silence.

"Sure," Collin muttered. He leaped up the stairs in two bounds and went down the hall that stretched to the right. I heard the sound of him banging on a door and saying, "Get up, kid."

"Go away, Collin," was the mumbled response.

"Mom says the food's ready," Collin told his younger brother. Immediately there was the sound of a boisterous kid running into the hall half-asleep. It involved a lot of crashing and thumping sounds.

"Dad! Food's ready!" Collin called, "Ow! Kevin!"

There was the noise of a scuffle breaking out. My lips twitched up into a smile as I studied my bare feet. Shoes were just too much trouble on a regular basis.

"You'd think I raised them in a barn," Connie said sadly, shaking her head.

"Better than my brothers," I said, my voice very quiet, as I went to stand in the kitchen.

"You have bro-" She started to ask, but was cut off by another voice.

"That smells delicious, Connie. What do you have for a bunch of starving boys?" The voice was deep and warm, much like Collin's voice. This had to be his dad. It sounded like it was coming from the top of the stairs.

There were a couple more loud thuds and a boy, about ten or eleven, ran into the kitchen. He had russet skin, black hair, and brown eyes. He had the same nose as his mom and Collin. When he saw me, his eyes got really wide.

Without thinking, he blurted, "Who're you?"

"Hello," Collin's father said as he saw me as well. They both stood on the edge of the kitchen, staring at me. I fidgeted, shifting my weight and trying not to sink into the shadows.

"This is Elly," Connie said, "She's Collin's..." She trailed into silence, evidently unsure exactly what I was.

"Collin's got a girlfriend!" Kevin Jr. said in a sing song voice, "Collin's got a girlfriend!"

"Shut up, squirt," Collin said as he joined the party in the kitchen.

"Don't tell me to shut up!" Kevin Jr. protested, tackling his brother. I thought it was silly for him to start a fight he would never be able to win, but that was just me.

"I'll tell you to shut up if you're being rude," Collin said as he tried to get Kevin to stop punching him. How the kid could actually stand to punch Collin I had no idea. Most humans would break their hands punching a werewolf.

I chuckled, the sight of the small boy attacking the huge Collin with fearless bravado was more than slightly hilarious. Collin's eyes flicked to mine and he grinned as well.

"Elly, this is my dad, Kevin, and my brother, Kevin."

"Thanks for the clarification," I had to force the words out of my mouth, but they came out sounding perfectly natural.

Kevin Jr., who was by then hanging upside down while Collin held him by the ankles, said, "I'm Little Kevin. Dad's Big Kevin."

I smiled wider at him, "Nice to meet you, Little Kevin."

He grinned up at me and I was struck by the similarity between the brothers. It didn't seem to bother either of them that Kevin was swinging upside down from Collin's hand. Boys. No matter how many of them I have in my head, I will never understand them.

"Put Kevin down, Collin," Connie said in a reproving tone, "That can't be good for his head."

"It's not like he can afford to lose any more brain cells either," Collin quipped.

As soon as Kevin was upright again, he was focused on food. Is it just the Quiluetes, or do all boys eat this much?

"Set the table, Kevin," Connie said to her son and then to her husband, "Would you find some orange juice or something in the freezer for me?"

Both of them moved to do as she wished. It seemed to me that she controlled this house, as far as food was concerned. Maybe she wouldn't ask me to do anything that might ruin the meal.

"Elly, would you greatly mind getting a carton of eggs out of the fridge and beating them?"

I opened my mouth to say 'of course not', but Collin got there first, "Yes, she would mind."

"Col," I said, resisting the temptation to reach out and give him a good, hard shove. Like as not, I would go a temporary kind of crazy as soon as my skin touched his.

"You want to ask Brady and Seth their opinion of your kitchen skills?"

"But I should help."

"Not by ruining the meal."

"Collin! I'm shocked at you. That's not a nice thing to say." Connie interrupted our conversation, reminding me that there were three people listening to us.

"Don't worry. He's right. I have horrible luck cooking anything," I told her.

"Still..." Connie said, but Collin had already taken out the eggs and was beating them heartily.

It was a matter of seconds for the eggs to cook. And then we all took seats at the dining table, me hovering nervously around the edges until Collin told me where to sit. He was careful not to touch me as he sat down next to me. Obviously, he didn't want me to do anything because he had touched me.

His parents didn't know that he was a werewolf and that wouldn't be a good way for them to find out.

The breakfast that Connie served looked like it belonged in a diner not a regular house. There were buttermilk pancakes that took of up all the space the large plates had, whipped cream, syrup, home fries, scrambled eggs, and a big pitcher of orange juice.

Collin didn't wolf it all down like he does when we're eating with the pack. Instead he went with an almost normal human pace. He was still a fast eater, as was his brother. The talk continued as we ate and, at first, it had nothing to do with me or Collin, just other stuff that I didn't pay attention to.

"Elly, I haven't seen you around La Push before, where do you live?" Connie asked, interrupting my careful observation of the amount of food Collin was eating.

Ever since I had accepted the fact that I loved Collin, I worried about him constantly. I remembered what he had looked like when I had woken up from my coma, how gaunt and skinny he'd become, and I wanted to make sure he ate enough.

I turned to her as I explained, "I just came to La Push a couple weeks ago. I live with my half-brother."

"Who's your half-brother?"

"Embry Call," I replied, knowing that Connie would know Embry or his mom. Everyone knew everyone here.

"Sam Uley is her other half-brother, but she lives with Mrs. Call and Embry instead of Sam," Collin explained to his parents.

"That isn't awkward?" Mr. Littlesea asked. This family seemed to have a thing for bluntness.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go," I said with a shrug, "after the orphanage closed. Sam is my official guardian, but I don't want to interrupt his life with Emily, so I live with Embry."

I heaved a silent sigh of relief when the conversation turned away from me. I think both of Collin's parents were embarrassed to have asked about such personal stuff. They probably hadn't meant to pry into my bad past.

Thinking about what I'd said, I realized just how true it was. In the beginning, I'd ended up at Embry's because I couldn't stand being around so many boys all the time. Now I would rather live in the woods than with Sam and Emily. Let's just say supernatural hearing isn't always the greatest thing. Especially when I can already hear Sam's thoughts when we're wolves.

"Collin, you're helping me paint my tree fort," Kevin Jr. declared, interrupting his parents very interesting conversation about chores that needed to be done.

"I am not," Collin replied immediately.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"How old are you, Col?" I teased, stopping the tiresome argument.

"I swear, Brady's rubbing off on you," Collin said, still annoyed at Kevin.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," I noted.

"Of course it's a bad thing."

"You're helping me paint my tree fort!" Kevin insisted.

"Kevin!" Collin cried.

"Collin, help him please. Your father and I need to go to Port Angeles to get furniture. You can watch him while we're gone," Connie intervened before they could start arguing like toddlers again.

"But, Mom!" Collin protested.

"But nothing. You are still grounded," Connie glared at her son, waiting for him to protest. He didn't.

Pack members being grounded wasn't a new thing, my brothers often got in trouble with their parents for being out at all hours.

"Elly?" Collin asked.

Knowing what he was asking, I replied, "Sam still insists that I can't hike, which is what Brady's doing, and Seth is going with his mom to see his sister. Embry went somewhere and I can't impose on Sam when Emily is sick."

In other words, I was staying with Collin.

"Hope you don't mind painting with little annoying kids," Collin said with a glare at Kevin.

"So Kevin is annoying, but Claire isn't?"

Collin rolled his eyes at me and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "don't need another Brady."

The talk resumed as before, but with Kevin dominating the conversation with all his plans for his tree house.

Collin's dad didn't say much of anything at all, besides a comment or suggestion here and there, but he and Connie both kept glancing at me. Probably wondering whether it was wise to leave their teenage son home alone (except for Kevin) with a girl. Especially since they had only met the girl today. Neither of them said anything, though, so there was no reason for awkward conversations. Except for the fact that there was a ten year old boy with exactly zero tact sitting right across from me.

"Elly, are you Collin's girlfriend?" He asked in a gleeful sort of way, like he was looking for ammunition to torture his brother with.

My cheeks were dark with my blush and stared at my plate.

"Kevin, would you please be polite for one day?" Collin asked through gritted teeth. He was just as red as me.

"Are you?" Kevin asked again, completely ignoring his brother.

"I guess so," I said, looking up to meet Collin's eyes.

Collin's face lit up in a grin and the dark red tinge mostly disappeared from his skin.

Just as both my and Collin's faces had returned to their normal russet color, the peace was interrupted again.

Only this time by a telephone. It rang several times, shrill, and Connie got up to answer it. She came back with a frown and handed the phone to me.

"Hello?"

"Elly," Sam's voice said, relief evident in the one word.

"What's wrong, Sam?" I asked and Collin stiffened, tensing up.

"Nothing. Emily was just worried about you. Embry disappeared again, he's not answering his phone and he hasn't phased, and neither Brady nor Seth knew where you were or who you were with."

"Sorry," I apologized immediately, "Tell Emily that I'm fine and I'm with Collin. She shouldn't be worrying about me."

"Okay. Hold on." Sam said and then he must have shifted the phone away from his mouth because the sound was muffled as he talked to Emily. "That's all," he told me.

"Bye, Sam," I said.

"Give Collin a warning for me, will you?" Sam asked in his older brotherly manner.

"Sam."

We said good-bye and hung up.

"What's going on?" Collin asked.

"Sam and Emily were just worried. What with Emily being sick and everything, I forgot to talk to Sam."

"Oh, okay. I thought it might be bad news or something," Collin said, his eyes telling me that he had thought it might be vampires. "Sam say anything about needing my help?"

I blushed at what Sam had said. "No."

Collin glanced at the phone. "He's going to kill me for forgetting to make sure he knew where you were."

"Sam wouldn't," I protested thinking that that wasn't exactly what Sam had been threatening Collin about.

"He's your brother. He would."

While we were talking, we had forgotten that both Collin's parents and his brother were listening to our conversation.

"Collin, if Sam kills you, can I have your video games?" Kevin so helpfully reminded us.

"I'll make sure to write a will," Collin reassured him, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Collin, Kevin, clear the table and wash the dishes," Connie commanded as she stood up and walked to the stairs.

I looked around- Collin's dad had already left the table and was, I could tell by the sound of the creaking floorboards, upstairs. I hadn't even realized he'd gone.

"Then wipe the table," Connie continued, leaving me out of her chore delegation.

Another sign that proved how unsure she was of me. I asked Collin where the bathroom was and entered it, closing the door behind me.

As I was washing my hands, I heard Collin and Connie talking in the living room, in loud whispers.

"Mom!" Collin said in the tone of someone who is deeply embarrassed.

"Just don't do anything your father wouldn't do."

Collin snorted, "Right. Why do you think I exist? Oh, yeah, because you two-"

There was a clapping sound and I highly suspected that Connie had just put her hand over her son's mouth. Their conversation continued, still in whispers that I could barely catch, even with my supernatural hearing.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?" Connie sounded a little worried and a lot excited.

"Because I didn't know she was my girlfriend."

"You didn't know?" Now she sounded scandalized.

_You're eavesdropping. That's a horrible habit. _My inner good-girl reminded me.

"Elly's had some... issues in her past with physical abuse. I don't want to push her trust in me. She still can't have anyone touching her without having a panic attack."

There was a small gasp that I assumed came from Connie.

The good-girl inside of me took control of me forcing me to open the door and walk out like I hadn't heard a word. Not that that fooled Collin.

Collin's eyebrows were raised as he and Connie turned to look at me.

"Well, then," Connie said, trying and failing to act like nothing was wrong.

"We'll be back by noon," Kevin Sr. said, his deep voice resonating throughout the house as he came to stand beside Connie.

"Actually, I was hoping to do some shopping..." Connie said, causing both Collin and his dad to groan. "Mom, do you really have to go shopping, again?"

"I wanted to redecorate" Connie watched as her son put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes, making a show of ignoring her, "your room."

Collin spun around, exasperation and annoyance coating his handsome face. "Come on, Elly. Let's go paint my brother's tree house."

"Fort. It's a tree fort." Kevin corrected as he raced around the house, looking for the things he needed.

I heard the sounds of Collin's parents pulling out of the driveway. At the same moment Kevin started yelling. He had completed three circuits around the downstairs and come up with none of the things he needed.

"Collin!" Kevin yelled in a really annoying, whiny voice, "Where is the-" He stopped speaking as Collin handed him a bucket of paintbrushes and other things, "Hey! I found it!"

Collin rolled his eyes at his little brother's antics. "Go upstairs and put on painting clothes."

Kevin raced up the stairs, probably trying for a new record at how quickly he could fall backwards down the stairs and break a leg. Or at least that's what it looked like he was trying to do. It probably wasn't his intention.

"Elly, you don't have to do this." Collin's whisper came from directly behind me- I had turned to watch Kevin scramble up the stairs- and it surprised me. I squeaked and jumped the tiniest bit.

I turned back around, "It's fine-" My words were cut off as my throat closed up. Collin was much closer behind me than I'd realized. In turning back to look at him, our faces had ended up mere inches apart.

I was startled to realize that my throat hadn't closed from surprise or fear, but from some other strange reason that I wasn't entirely sure of.

Without realizing what I was doing, I reached towards Collin. His eyes were shocked and he looked like he had been literally frozen to one spot. My right hand, the one that was reaching to him, brushed his cheekbone and then a piece of hair. My eyes were watering, but I refused to let them blink because I was afraid that this was a dream. I was touching Collin. I was touching Collin and I hadn't turned into a big, furry wolf or had a panic attack.

And then I did something that surprised the both of us even more. I leaned forward and kissed Collin. Our lips fit together perfectly. I inhaled, staying as still as possible so that I wouldn't break the connection. Collin's scent filled my nose, strong and unique. It smelled slightly like the forest, but different too. Collin seemed to unfreeze as one of his hands went to my chin, tilting it so that he could deepen the kiss. His lips moving against mine were warm and soft.

My gut and heart settled into a feeling of utter contentment and happiness. I never wanted this to end.

**A/N: Yay! Elly's made a big step in the right direction. Thoughts, anyone? Criticisms, complements, ideas? Review!**


	12. Brady's Plan

**My New Life Chapter 12: Brady's Plan**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. **

**A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter has taken so long. It really isn't all that good, but I've been so busy and I've had writer's block. I am leaving for a week long overnight camp in a couple days, so I'll try to get another chapter out before then. Keyword being try. **

My gut and heart settled into a feeling of utter contentment and happiness. I never wanted this to end.

Unfortunately, the moment I thought that, we were interrupted. Very rudely.

"EEEEWWWW!" The shout was so loud I thought for a second that it was a siren. "MY EYES! MY BRAIN! EEWW! Someone kill me now!"

I jumped, throwing myself away from Collin and towards the door, instinct urging me to find a good escape route. My eyes searched for the source of the loud cries.

At the bottom of the stairs was a young boy, his russet skin tinged Christmas colors- green and red.

Collin's teeth snapped together with a clearly audible click.

"I think I'm gonna barf!" Kevin clutched at his belly, looking thoroughly disgusted. A little less drama, please.

"Then do it somewhere I won't have to clean it up," Collin managed to say. He was shaking, almost imperceptibly, with anger.

"Gross! Gross, gross, _gross. _I'll never recover. Someone's gonna have to bleach my brain!" Kevin complained, holding his belly, "Nothing could be worse than seeing that!"

"Believe me, Kev, it could." Brady said, standing in the doorway, "Ever tried walking in on your parents-"

"EEEWWWW!" Kevin looked positively green.

Collin's hands were fists and his eyes were squeezed shut, trying not to lose control of his temper.

"Just wait another four years and it'll be you kissing-" Brady continued talking, still smiling.

"Brady, aren't you supposed to be working?" Collin's voice was strangled.

"Yup, just came to tell you two that all of us need to be at the meeting place at four," Brady grinned, waved good-bye to Kevin, who was gagging, and walked back out the door.

"He looks like he's up to something," I murmured, my narrowed eyes following Brady's progress towards the trees.

"Who cares?" Collin said sourly.

Kevin's hands were plastered over his mouth as he raced for the bathroom. Really, that was a little much.

"I am never, ever, ever kissing anyone," Kevin moaned as he came back out of the bathroom. He shuddered in disgust.

I seriously doubted that, but I didn't want to burst his dramatic bubble.

Collin was still shaking slightly and clenching his fists.

"Col," I whispered to him, the fingertips of my left hand smoothing the frown out of his forehead.

His eyes flicked to me, and his entire body relaxed, the frown disappearing.

"I'm right here! I can see and hear you!" Kevin glared at us, looking utterly repulsed.

I sighed as Collin tensed right back up.

"Do you want your brother to kill you?" I asked Kevin.

He didn't reply. I turned to Collin, who was staring intently at his little brother. I looked back at Kevin, who was staring just as intently at Collin. Okay. That's strange.

"You keep the drama to yourself and I won't stick you on a stake for the wolves," Collin bargained.

I barely contained a laugh at his joke.

Kevin frowned, "That isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair. And I'm bigger than you," Collin hinted.

"Fine, but you have to help me paint my tree fort and-"

"Kevin," Collin warned, his voice nearing explosion point.

"-help me finish-"

"Kevin!"

"-my homework so Mom doesn't-"

"KEVIN!"

"-freak out-"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Collin slapped his hand over Kevin's mouth.

I could just barely hear Kevin's response, "Wow! You agreed."

I bit my bottom lip, trying desperately not to start laughing at the haggard expression on Collin's face and the delighted look on the little bit of Kevin's face that I could see.

"Maybe we should start painting if we have to meet Brady and the others at four," I suggested before the two brothers started an all-out war.

Collin nodded and Kevin raced outside, grabbing stuff on his way out. Collin sighed and followed him.

"Elly? The clothes you're wearing, do you mind getting them painted?" Collin asked, stopping and turning around as the thought occurred to him.

I looked down at my clothes, which were just a sturdy pair of jeans and a long sleeve, both light bluish-gray in color.

"I guess not," I said, walking quickly towards Collin, and the door, "Let's go."

Collin nodded, and lead me out the door, into the backyard, and over to the forest. On the edge of the forest a huge oak tree towered, its branches spreading out in a circle. A circular deck was built around the trunk, about six feet above the ground, with a small, square tree house another six feet up. Kevin waved down to us as he tapped his foot, impatient.

Collin glanced at me, then reached up to the edge of the deck and swung himself onto it. It wasn't a reach for him, so it wouldn't be a reach for me. I was, after all, nearly as tall as him. I followed Collin's lead, finding it incredibly easy to use my arms to pull myself up and onto the deck. Kevin's jaw dropped and he stared at me, his eyes bulging.

"How did you do that?"

I frowned, confused. "Collin did it too."

"Yeah, but Collin's huge!" Kevin was still staring at me, "You- you're just a girl!"

My frown deepened and I crossed my arms, annoyed. I stood up and glared down at the little kid.

He craned his neck back to look at me, seemed to realize just how big I was, and gulped.

"Watch your mouth," I warned, "Or you'll meet a girl who will beat you up for saying that kind of thing."

Kevin nodded frantically.

Collin snorted. "Great. My brother listens to Elly, but not to me."

I smiled at him.

"We're going to paint the tree fort green," Kevin instructed.

Several hours later, there was just as much paint on the two brothers as on the fort. I had managed to dodge most of the splashes that the two aimed at each other, whether on purpose or by accident, it was hard to tell. Collin's clothes were totally green and he had several green streaks on his skin. As for Kevin, his black hair was now green and his cheeks were splashed green as were his hands.

We had managed to paint the tree fort and the deck, though. It hadn't rained and the paint was drying quickly.

"Time to clean up," Collin told Kevin. Collin grabbed the empty paint cans and the dirty brushes before jumping lithely off the side of the deck. Even with my supernatural hearing, I could barely detect the soft thump of his landing. I slid off the side, landing lightly on the balls of my feet.

Kevin took longer, climbing down a rope ladder that was secured to the edge of the deck. That was probably the intended means of getting up and down. Though, as I looked at it, it seemed that it wouldn't hold Collin's weight.

We ate lunch in the kitchen, cold pizza because that was the only thing in the fridge. Then Collin and Kevin went upstairs to shower. Before he walked up the stairs after his brother, Collin came over to me.

"Elly, you can go back to your house, if you want. I'll come over there after I'm done harassing Kevin."

I smiled slightly, my eyes drooping as I yawned. "I'll see you later then."

_**Collin's Point of View**_

I spent an entire hour trying to get Kevin to wash the green paint out of his hair. He flatly refused, saying that it looked cool. I growled at him several times. He was keeping me from seeing Elly! Eventually, I dunked him into the full bathtub, making sure he had enough air in his lungs so he didn't die as I scrubbed the paint off his stupid head.

Then he made a huge fuss about his homework until I helped him with his math. At that point, the idiotic kid could've died for all I cared.

Finally, his homework was done.

"Collin, where are you going?" Kevin demanded as I tried to make a run for it.

"Away from you." I didn't turn around.

"You're supposed to be watching me."

"You're ten stinking years old! You can take care of yourself."

"Mom said-"

"I don't care what Mom said!" I said, though he should've known that already. After all, I was almost permanently grounded for sneaking out.

"Collin," Kevin whined, making me want to drag his face around in the dirt. Couldn't he just shut up already?

"What?" I snapped.

The kid had already ruined my day. What more could he do?

"Take me cliff diving."

"No way, kid, you're out of luck."

"But you already spent all morning with her!" Kevin complained like the whiny brat that he is.

"How do you know that I'm not going to spend time with Brady?"

"Because if you were, you would be going cliff diving and you would bring me along," Kevin said. Stupid, logical kid.

"Don't you have any friends you can hang out with?" I asked.

"Yeah! I'll go over to-" Kevin kept rambling, but I stopped listening. I was already out the back door and through the yard.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

I was still trying to figure out exactly what this turn of events meant when Collin came up behind me. I was in the room that belonged to me in Embry's house, looking around and sitting on the bed. The room was just as devoid of personal objects as it had been when I'd first arrived. It didn't feel like home.

"Elly?" Collin asked, hovering around the doorway. I could feel his anger surging through my gut and it surprised me. Why was Collin angry? I was happier than I'd ever been.

"Col! Is something wrong?" I needed to make sure he was okay- that nothing had gone wrong. His safety and happiness was vital for my own.

"No, I'm just irritated with the ten year old who is currently pigging out in your kitchen."

"Kevin followed you here?"

"The kid's a debate artist," Collin glared at the door as if it had personally offended him.

I smiled, getting off the bed and stretching my long legs. As I stretched my arms over my head, I banged one hand roughly off the ceiling. It didn't hurt me, of course, but it did put a slight dimple in the spot where my hand had hit. I was still unused to my tall body with its long, strong arms, and indestructible (or nearly so) beauty.

"What was that?" Kevin asked, his head poking in the door, his eyes glancing around the room as he searched for the cause of the noise.

"Nothing, go back to pigging out."

"There's nothing good in the fridge," Kevin complained.

"Then go home," Collin suggested.

"No."

"Fine, quit complaining."

"But I'm hungry!" Kevin moaned.

I escaped to the forest with Collin a little before four o'clock, eager to just get away from Kevin for a little while. Much as I loved Collin, I was beginning to harbor a deep dislike of Kevin's company.

"Thank god, we're out," Collin joked, the first time he had done so the entire afternoon,"We survived!"

It had been a very, very long afternoon of watching the sports channel. Honestly, while I found sports interesting, I didn't understand the big fuss that Kevin made when the team he was rooting for lost. No big deal when you've almost died, I guess.

"We're gonna be the first ones there," I pointed out.

Collin just shrugged, "Better than being with Kevin much longer. Mom would be disappointed if I killed him."

We reached the meeting place quickly, it was just a clearing in the woods far from any houses or trails. I hid in an overgrown grove of trees to phase into a wolf, coming out only when I had my clothes stowed in a safe spot, out of the wet. Then I bounded into the clearing.

Collin had just phased and it was surprisingly easy to have him in my head. After all, now he could hear all the stuff I couldn't tell him. I heard Quil and Paul phase. Both of them were thinking glumly about their imprints. Cue the eye roll.

But I stopped hearing the voices in my head when Collin entered the clearing.

_Collin? _I asked as I looked down at Collin in disbelief.

I was bigger than him, much bigger. When they arrived, both Quil and Paul stared up at me in utter disbelief. I had grown. A lot.

Jared, Jacob and Seth all phased in the next few minutes. It was no surprise that both Jared and Jacob were thinking about their imprints, though Jared did try to curb the disgusting images so that I wouldn't phase back, again.

Brady was the next to arrive, and the pack was nearly complete.

I was larger than all of them, except Jake. Jake was about an inch taller than me and a little more muscled. Paul and Jared were pondering betting on who would win if we fought- me or Jake. Collin's growl at that idea stopped them for the time being.

I looked around and realized that the only wolves not present were my brothers.

_'Sup, Elly? _Brady asked, causing me to roll my eyes. As if he didn't know.

_The sky. _I thought, my eyes darting to the heavy cloud cover, hoping it would rain soon. I enjoyed rain even more in this form than I did as my human self.

_Jake, Rebecca called. _Paul volunteered, making me wonder why he was the one passing on the message. _Because I happened to answer the phone and hear her voice on the other end. _

And because Rachel had wanted Paul to pass on the message and Paul, of course, had been unable to refuse.

The pack was arranged in a loose circle, some sitting, some laying down, some standing, and I was next to Collin, Seth, and Brady, as usual.

_What did she say? _Jake wanted to know.

_Something about telling you about something. _

_With Rachel? _I teased.

Paul barked at me and would've lunged in if I hadn't been surrounded by wolves who would attack him. I could see, though, that he had indeed been with Rachel at the time. It was frustrating that, when around their imprints, my brothers lost the small amount of brain cells that they had.

Everyone glared at me.

Oops-a-daisies.

_Did she say anything else? _Seth asked, saving me. That was why he was one of my best friends.

_No. _Paul grumbled. _Oh, wait. Rebecca said that you need to call her back. Rach already talked to her. _

Everyone fell silent as we waited for someone to tell us the reason that we were gathered in the middle of the forest.

_Sorry, I'm late. _Came the thought as Embry's consciousness appeared.

Sam had still not come, but Brady walked into the middle of the clearing, starting the meeting.

_First, we need more information from Elly. _Brady turned to me, his eyes expectant.

_Information about what? _I asked.

_Kade. _

_What?_ What on earth were they doing? Why did they need to know more about my brother?

_Told you we'd find him, didn't we? _Seth put in.

They were trying to find Kade, but they needed more information? How had I not known this?

My brothers all patted themselves on the back, metaphorically speaking anyway, at my surprise and pleasure.

I shared with them all the stuff I knew, his name, his parents' names, and the place where he had lived once. I didn't show them a picture of him because I knew that if I dug up one of those images the rest would come out in a horrifying flood.

When that was done, I asked Brady where Sam was. I wasn't really worried about my brother, more about Emily.

_He changed his mind. He's not phasing anymore. He's too worried about Emily. At this rate, Emily will kill him before the baby's even born. _

_Ease up on him. _Collin defended Sam, _he's having a hard time not being able to do anything to protect or help her. _

The subject of Emily's pregnancy brought up a few amusing (to me anyway) thoughts from Paul. It wasn't disgusting or anything. Just Rachel had been talking to him about kids and he had been absolutely terrified at the idea. Paul was more afraid of having a kid than he was of vampire armies. I could just imagine Paul having a girl with his famous temper. Her teenage years would be-

_Elly! _Paul interrupted me, panicked at the mere thought.

Everyone laughed at him, making Paul angry. Really angry. He wasn't going to be able to phase back anytime soon.

Brady butted in before Paul attacked anyone. _One last thing before we all go. _

_Brady, what are you up to? _Collin asked, suspicion written on ever inch of his face.

Brady turned to Embry. _Hey, Embry, I heard you imprinted. Can we meet her? _

Oh God. Oh God. Trust Brady to have to take it into his own hands. Now every single pack member was staring at Embry in surprise. Embry was struggling to hide his thoughts, burying his feelings and memories deep inside his head.

_Imprint? _Quil asked, clueless as always.

_Who would want to be your imprint? _Paul asked, still furious.

Embry's eyes flashed to Paul's face and he growled, low and loud. _Butt out! _

_Who is she? _Jared wanted to know.

This time, no images flew through Embry's mind. He looked like a deer, cornered by a pack of wolves. He was my brother, I couldn't let them do this to him.

_Get your noses out of his business! _I leaped forward, placing my large body next to Embry. The hair on the back of my neck bristled as I growled, my growl was more menacing than Embry's, and pulled my lips up to expose my teeth.

Paul did not like being threatened by anyone. Especially me. He was already pissed off and this just made him angrier. He lunged at me and my brother.

**A/N: What's going to happen? **


	13. Beta

**My New Life Chapter 13: Beta **

**Disclaimer: I am not St- forget it. I'm not saying it again. **

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I said I would update before I left for camp, but my mom surprised me by having us leave a day early so we could visit relatives on the way there. (Yay! Not.) Please forgive me.**

Embry made a move to meet Paul, to intercept his lunge, but I used one of my shoulders to bump Embry out of the way. Then I used my powerful hind legs to slam my weight into Paul, knocking him out of the air.

_Stop! _That was Jake, but it wasn't an order. I ignored him.

Paul snapped at my throat. He wasn't actually trying to kill me, just disable me. But it was still a big difference from the play fighting. This was real and this was dangerous.

I cursed fluently in my head, using all the dirty words learned in a troubled childhood. My leg stung and blood was dripping down my side.

Paul's teeth barely missed my face as he snapped wildly.

Okay. That was it. I was not letting him hurt me or my brother. I was claiming my authority over him. After all, I was bigger and stronger than him.

I let loose a ripping snarl, pushing Paul to the ground underneath me. I pulled my sharp claws over his side, ripping into the skin before he pushed me off of him. He got back to his feet and we circled.

I lunged forward, catching his tail in my teeth and tugging. Paul let out a whine. I bit his leg. The blood flowed freely onto my muzzle. I turned into a wild wolf, letting my instincts control my moves.

I bit and swiped at Paul until he was too weak to do anything except lay down. He whimpered, showing his belly. That was the wolf's way of submitting to authority. I growled at him once more, my wolf instincts telling me that he'd had enough, that I should stop before I hurt the pack. I turned away from him to look at the silent spectators that were my brothers.

I closed my eyes and my tongue lolled. I was even warmer than usual and exhausted. I had been human for too long, I was out of shape. I shook myself, try to shake out the mats of sweat and blood that were in my curly fur. Instead, the ground yawned away from me. Blood loss. Where?

_Your left hind. _Brady pointed his nose towards the leg, the first to break the silence.

I glanced at my leg; there was a deep cut, deep enough and with enough blood flowing from it that it hadn't been able to heal. It hurt like hell. _I deserve that. _

_Everyone fights with Paul. It's an occupational hazard of having him in your head. _Brady grinned, baring his canine teeth.

Only Brady would be joking at a time like this.

Paul whimpered and jerked his head in pain.

_Look, he's alive! _Seth trotted over to Paul, inspecting him thoughtfully.

The silence was completely broken now. My other brothers were voicing their thoughts, too.

_Shit. Rach's gonna freak. _That was Jacob, the one who would have to tell Rachel that Paul had been badly hurt by me. _Elly, you're my Second._

I stared at Jacob, my jaw slack. Was he mentally unhinged?

_No. You just claimed your authority over Paul. You're the Beta. _

That was so not how it worked. The Second or the Beta, the person who was the second in command, was someone with actual battle experience. Someone who knew what they were doing. It at least had to be someone who was allowed to phase.

_You are allowed to phase. Sam isn't the Alpha anymore. I am. _Jacob said it calmly, like he wasn't just revoking an Alpha order.

Jake seemed like a good Alpha- though it would have been nice if he'd stopped me from injuring Paul.

_The idiot needed a good knock on the head. _Seth cheerily assured me.

_Asshole would be more appropriate. _Collin seethed.

_Col, I'm not hurt. _

Collin glared at me, jabbing an imaginary finger at my wound.

_Just a little bit. _I fibbed, walking towards Collin. My walk was fine, except that I was so dizzy I couldn't go in a straight line and I couldn't put any real weight on my leg now that the adrenaline from the fight was over.

The adrenaline was one of the reasons my brothers loved to fight so much; it was better than cliff diving to them. To me, it seemed wrong to hurt anything just to get an adrenaline high. Or maybe, I just didn't have that Y chromosome.

_You're going back to Sam's. Now. _Collin's tone left no arguing, so I leaned against Brady and Seth as I started to make my way back to my soon-to-be-furious guardian. Collin knew that I wasn't quite comfortable enough to lean against him.

_Why? He'll just get angry at her and at Jake. Take her back to Embry's or your place. _Apparently, Brady didn't agree that there was no arguing with Collin right now.

_And explain the giant wound and lack of clothes to the adults how? _

_Or you can take her to my place. Grandma won't mind a little more blood on the carpet. _

_Brady, what do you mean by a little _more _blood on the carpet? _

_Collin and I were goofing off and I cut myself. It was so awesome, watching the wound heal! But I got blood on the carpet. Grandma already knew I was a shapeshifter, so she just cleaned the carpet with a tsunami's worth of carpet cleaner. _Brady's thoughts about his grandmother were fond- he loved her a lot. By the time Brady remembered why he had brought his grandmother and the bloody carpet up in the first place, we were already at Sam's.

Brady and Seth both phased and went inside to explain to Sam why they were covered in my blood. I could tell when they told him, because I heard the sound of a loud bang and a lot of deep, calming breaths. Sam's control of his temper was being tested yet again.

Emily ignored Sam's temper issues as she opened the back door, her hands full of old, raggedy towels. She started to walk towards me, but Sam darted to her and took the towels out of her hands.

"Sam!"

"I can do it, Emily. She's my sister."

"Exactly, _she. _Go back inside with the other boys. This will be hard enough without extra eyes."

"But-"

"I'm not _that _pregnant!" Emily cried, her tone sounding like that of a very hormonal woman. How much longer until Sam eased up a little?

_Four months till the baby's due. _Collin answered my silent musings, his eyes flicking repeatedly between my face and my wounded leg.

"Sam, go inside." Emily's voice was closer now. Sam sighed and trudged back into the house, rubbing his face with his hands. "Collin, you too."

Collin snuffed quietly, glancing at me before looking back at Emily.

_Go. Emily probably yelled at Sam enough so that he let her cook something. _

Collin nodded, his worried and angry eyes disappearing into the trees as he went to change.

Unlike me, he still had his clothes tied to his leg. What had happened to my clothes? I couldn't remember the fight very well. I had been more animal than human as I slashed and bit. The blow that had cut my leg had probably shredded my clothes.

I watched as Collin, human again, walked towards the house, glancing back at me as he went. Then I turned my large head to look at Emily. She was looking at me with a new expression on her face. It was the first time I'd ever seen her pretty countenance with shock written on it.

"You look exactly like him." She whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at me.

I cocked my head, curious.

"Sam. You two are nearly identical. Except your fur is curly and his is straight." Emily stared at me for another couple seconds and then she glanced back at the small house. "I don't think that any of them will dare watch out the window and I can't help you into the woods." She seemed to be thinking out loud. "This'll have to do. Phase back, if you can."

I nodded my head and closed my eyes. I breathed deeply letting all the extra anger and left over adrenaline whoosh out of my body. I could feel the shape change- the return from terrifying wolf to beautiful human.

I could also hear Emily's gasp. By the time I looked up, though, she had control of her emotions and her face was carefully calm and nonchalant.

I knew why she had gasped, though. My left leg was a bloody wreck, and it wasn't healing. It looked, and felt horrible. Now that I wasn't trying to pretend for Collin, I could admit that to myself. I could also admit that I felt like a piece of crap and not just because of the wound. Paul was much worse, and that was my fault. I had risen to the bait and fought him. I didn't care so much that he was hurt- he could heal quickly and he had deserved most of the beating that I gave him- it was more that I had caused both Collin and Rachel worry and pain for their imprints.

Somehow words slipped out of my mouth even though I meant to hold them in. "I will be the death of Collin."

"No, you won't. He just worries." Emily assured me, "They all worry."

This injury would just cause them to worry more about me.

"Let's get you into the house," Emily said as she handed me the towels. I wrapped one around my body and the other around my leg. It would do until I could get a pair of shorts and a long sleeve on.

Then I pulled myself to my feet, ripping a branch off a tree in the process, and limped towards the house. Once inside, I went straight for the guest bedroom that had some of my clothes in it. Luckily, it was close to the back door and the others were in the kitchen so no one, except Emily, saw me.

I fell onto the couch, keeping my wounded leg completely wrapped in fresh towels- the old ones were completely soaked with blood. My shorts were very short, meant to be pajamas not regular clothes, so they didn't have any blood on them.

I heard someone grinding his teeth together and opened my eyes. Collin was staring at my leg, which was wrapped like a mummy in towels that were quickly turning red. My eyes skipped around the circle of boys and I realized that all of the boys who were closest to me (Seth, Brady, Collin, Embry, and Sam) were present. Embry looked deeply worried and there was guilt in his dark brown eyes. Seth was grinning, like always, and Brady was laughing with him about some joke or other. Sam's face was blank of any readable emotion which meant that he was livid with fury.

"That looks bad," Emily noted.

"Paul's look much worse," Brady said, still chuckling.

"Of course they do," Sam said it with pride.

I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. Sam was proud that I gave better than I got! Sam was proud of me. That was a first.

"Congrats, Ells," Brady said, holding his hand out for a high five.

Sam's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why-"

"Elly is Jake's second!" Brady crowed, sounding just as proud of me as Sam had. It made me feel good, until I noticed Sam's expression. The blank mask had slipped and he was outright glaring at Brady, the unfortunate messenger of the news.

Another fight was prevented when Collin said, "Elly!" I turned to look at him, confused by the outburst. "You've lost too much blood," he explained.

It was true. My head was spinning and whirling and my vision was going black.


	14. Aidon

**My New Life Chapter 14: Aidon**

**A/N: A lot of you wanted to know why Elly's leg isn't healing. She is healing, but the wound's big enough and there is enough blood flow so it isn't immediately apparent. When she was fighting Paul all of her energy went into the fight and he was slashing at her repeatedly. She's lost too much blood, which also slows down the process... **

I was only out for a few seconds, but it was long enough so my wound was much improved by the time I opened my eyes again. I glanced around and smiled a little. Collin, Brady, Seth, Emily, and Claire were all clustered around me. Sam was several feet away, his eyes squeezed shut, breathing deeply. His fists dangled at his sides.

Claire wriggled from Emily's grasp and scampered over to me. She put her palm on the blood covering my red, turning her entire hand red. Then she swirled it all over my arm, drawing a stick figure. She repeated the process with her own arm.

The others watched her in shock, but I just chuckled. Claire's touch no longer bothered me- the little girl would never hurt me.

"Emily, can you get me some paper towels?" I asked as I carefully glanced down at my wound. The cut was growing shallower every second, but it still hurt.

Emily hurried to hand me a whole roll of paper towels. I took one and carefully wiped the blood off the inside of the wound. I gritted my teeth as I requested a First Aid kit. Collin handed it to me, and I cleaned my wound with careful fingers. By the time it was completely clean, no traces of dirt or sweat left, there was just a nick in my leg.

The door slammed open as Claire and I started to wash off my leg, trying to return it to a russet color, instead of the dull red color it currently was.

Quil walked in, grumbling to himself, "... not my fault... temper... bloodied piece of meat..." Then he saw Claire. "Claire!"

She looked up at him, grinning. "Quil! I drew a person on my arm!" She waved it around, proud of her artistic skills.

But Quil didn't even glance at her arm; his gaze was fixed on her completely red hand. In an instant he was next to us, sweeping Claire into his arms as he inspected her.

"Quil, it's my blood," I informed him, continuing to scrub at my skin. It looked a little less red and a little more pink now.

He ignored me, carrying Claire into the kitchen so he could wash the blood off of her hand and arm. I could hear her complaining: he was ruining her artwork.

I smiled and reached down to try and scrub the blood off my foot. I kept my leg extended, wanting the wound would continue to heal, and my legs were long enough so I had trouble reaching one particular patch of dried blood.

Large hands took the cloth away from me and gently washed away the blood. Collin smiled tightly, his eyes still worried, as he inspected the quickly healing gash.

I tried not to throw something at the TV screen. Three hours of Teletubbies, Barnie, and Dora the Explorer was driving me crazy.

Claire, sitting next to me, giggled at something chirpy little Dora said and then bounced up and down in Quil's lap. I closed my eyes and envisioned myself strangling Dora and all her buddies.

"Quil, watch! Watch!" Claire commanded, having caught Quil watching her instead of the TV.

"I'm watching Claire-Bear."

"Quil," I started, an idea occurring to me, "I'll run patrol for you for two weeks if you let me get out of here without telling Sam."

Sam had left me with Quil and Claire so he could help Emily shop for groceries- he didn't want her to do any heavy lifting. Collin, Brady, and Seth had all been instructed to go to Home Depot to get replacements for various broken things. Embry had just plain disappeared. I had been commanded, by Embry, Sam, _and_ Collin, to stay still with my leg propped up while it healed.

I glanced down at my leg. It was almost completely healed now; the only evidence I had ever had a wound at all was a long, shiny patch of pink skin. My leg was clean and whole once more.

"I really don't think-" Quil started to say, but I interrupted.

"Thanks, Quil," and I darted out the door.

As soon as I was in the woods, I phased.

_Oh, thank God. I escaped. _

_Escaped from what? _Jake asked me, and I could hear the grin in his thought.

_Dora the Explorer, Barnie, and Teletubbies. _

_Torture._

We didn't talk anymore as I ran leisurely home. I was pretty sure Embry wouldn't be at the house, so I wasn't really worried about him sending me back to Quil and Claire. Maybe I could cover for Embry to his mom, again. Maybe he would eventually trust me enough to tell me what the heck was going on with him.

_We're all hoping for that. _Jake reminded me.

_Night, Jake. _I thought as I phased back to human form and pulled on my shorts and long sleeve.

_I cowered into the dark corner. Aidon, my constant tormentor, came closer. Aidon had a terrible temper and he liked to hear me squeak when he was angry- he said it helped him calm down. _

_But I didn't care why he came for me, only that he was coming for me. I had no chance of hiding, but I couldn't stop trying to push myself into the wall. _

"_There you are," he hissed at me, his fist tightening and then flying through the air to push all the air out of my lungs. _

_I opened my mouth and all my breath whooshed out, along with a stifled shriek. _

_My entire face burst into white-hot flames as Aidon slapped me. I let out a low whimper of pain and he giggled. He kicked me and started laughing when I cried out from the pain. Putting one hand around my mouth, Aidon grasped my right wrist in his other hand. Watching my expression avidly, he squeezed until my wrist broke with a sickening crack. I screamed as my entire arm caught fire and Aidon threw his head back and laughed, the sadistic sound sending chills down my injured body. _

_There was no hope for rescue. Kade was long gone, out of this awful place, and the current shift of orphanage workers were ignorant and probably drunk. _

_Aidon seemed to have had enough though, because he walked away, still giggling maniacally. I got to my hands and knees- _

"Elly!" it was Collin and he sounded panicked.

My eyes jerked open and I was on my feet and out of my room in an instant. I stopped in the living room, where Collin was standing. His face was filled with a sudden relief.

"Why didn't you stay with Quil and Claire?"

"I couldn't stand anymore TV." I whispered, trying to shake myself out of my dream. The problem was it hadn't just been a dream, it had happened to me, many times, in real life.

"Are you okay?" Collin made his voice gentler, reaching out with one hand to touch my face.

I flinched away, preparing for the flaring white-hot pain of the slap.

Collin pulled back immediately. "What happened?"

"Dream." I whispered.

"Anything I can do for you?" Collin sounded almost like he was begging me to let him help.

"Just let me come back to reality." I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the present. I'd kissed Collin earlier, so having him just a few feet away shouldn't have been a big deal.

But it was. It was, it was, it was. I couldn't stop my brain from trying to predict where and how he would hurt me next and how I should react. My body thrummed with fear and adrenaline- the bad kind. Aidon and Collin had nothing in common except they were both male and large.

Collin was silent for several minutes. The silence was awkward, but I couldn't take my mind off of analyzing past attacks long enough to do anything about it.

"Where's Embry and his mom?" Collin asked, breaking the silence.

"Vanished," I squeaked. "She went to a friend's."

Aidon was going to hurt me. Aidon was going to slap, punch, and kick me. Aidon was going to giggle and guffaw with sadistic glee at my pain.

No. Collin was next to me. Collin would protect me. Collin would save me, he would always save me.

Aidon was coming for me and he was going to hurt me.

Collin was protecting me.

Aidon was angry.

Collin was there.

Aidon was _angry. _

I pushed myself off the couch I had curled up on at some point and ran to my room. I slammed the door behind me and dove onto my bed, burrowing my face in my pillow. I sobbed, my chest heaving as tears poured drenched my pillow. Outside, the rain poured down, beating against my window with a soothing rhythm.

**A/N: I'm leaving for a week long vacation in a few hours, so leave me a review for when I get back! **


	15. Reality and Memories

**My New Life Chapter 15: Reality and Memories**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. **

**A/N: So, in the past, I've always thought that whenever people said they had writer's block and that was why they didn't update, it was just an excuse for being lazy. Boy, was I wrong. I've written and re-written this chapter at least ten times, and I'm still not satisfied with how it came out. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

Nothing changed for the better during the night. In fact, it got worse the next day.

Because, not only was I terrified Aidon was about to come after me, but sleep deprivation was making it nearly impossible for me to distinguish between reality and memories.

So, when Embry walked into my room, announcing it was time for school, I almost phased then and there.

Embry, noticing my panicked expression, asked, "Elly, you, um, okay? You don't look so good."

I nodded wildly, my curls bouncing everywhere. "I'll get ready," I squeaked.

Embry backed out of the room, watching me with a bewildered expression. I pulled on the first pair of pants and the first long sleeve that met my fingers. Then I bowed my head so my hair swung in front of my face. I swung my heavy backpack onto my shoulders and cracked my door open a smidge.

Embry was talking to Sam in the living room. "I don't know." Pause. "I don't know." Pause. "Haven't got a clue." Another, longer pause. "Absolutely no idea." A short pause. "Sam! I don't know why she's acting like this again, so stop asking stupid questions!"

Sam was speaking loudly now too, so I could hear him as well. "_You're living with her, Embry._" Sam snapped. Stress about not phasing and Emily's pregnancy equaled a bad tempered Sam.

"And? I'm almost never home."

"_Why is that, exactly? I know Jacob hasn't been giving you that much patrol time. Where are you when you're not with your mom and sister, where you're supposed to be?_"

"It's none of your business." Embry's cheeks were very dark- the equivalent of bright red for someone with white skin.

"_Well, since you're my brother and it's my sister you're supposed to be protecting, then, yeah, I'd say it is._" Sam was yelling.

"She was with Collin pretty much all day yesterday! How was I supposed to protect her when she's with him?" Embry was also yelling, now.

I buried my face in my hands. My brothers were fighting because of me.

"_I'm gonna kill that twerp._" Sam sounded angry enough to phase.

"And you think that's going to help Elly, how?" Embry demanded, not quite shouting anymore, but still trembling harder than an earthquake.

Sam growled into the phone, "_Watch our sister like you're supposed to, Embry._" And he hung up.

Embry nearly threw the phone down and stalked to the door, scowling.

I opened my door all the way and slipped out after him.

The ride to the school was tense and Embry merely dropped me off, not bothering to stick around long enough to actually go to school himself.

I walked through the halls of the school, a shaking wreck, as I tried to glance everywhere at once. The words kept flashing through my sleep deprived brain: _Aidon. Aidon is coming. Aidon. _

In class, I perched on my seat, my eyes darting around the room, to Brady sitting next to me, and back to the classroom door.

Brady no doubt had talked to Collin because he seemed only mildly confused at my behavior. Brady let me be the entire class as he actually paid attention to the teacher, for once. But when I scurried away as soon as the bell had rung, darting nervous glances at him, his brow furrowed and he followed me to our next class. Why did our schedules have to be identical?

"Ells, we need to talk. Collin said-" Brady sat down next to me and was promptly glared into silence by the teacher. I don't think she'd ever met a student she'd actually liked.

I edged away from Brady, unpleasantly aware of his body heat. Just yesterday, I'd been kissing Collin, and now I couldn't stand to have any large person anywhere within a few feet of myself.

Once again, I raced out of class as soon as it was over. The only thing I could think about was getting away from people, maybe going for a nice long run as soon as the school day was over.

Unfortunately, the crowds in the halls made it impossible for me to move quickly, while everyone moved out of the way of the large Brady.

It was nearly effortless for him to catch up with me, regardless of my head start.

"Ells, you don't even have to look at me, just talk to me." Brady wasn't very close to me, but I still heard his every word.

I edged away again, but Brady wasn't giving up.

Couldn't he just understand I wanted to be left alone?

But, because he was Brady and Brady never, ever gave up, he stood over me, not quite towering since I was almost as tall as him, but still hovering.

"Not here." I whispered it, my eyes searching for the large body that should be searching for me. Aidon would kill me if I told anyone. He had beat the lesson into me time and time again.

"Outside," Brady suggested, causing me to wonder if he had even bothered to read the school rules. Leaving the building without permission was definitely prohibited.

Brady led the way through the now empty halls, reminding me I was missing one of two classes I had with Collin.

I _needed _to see Collin. But Aidon was coming... and Brady wanted to talk to me. I blinked dizzily. Nothing made sense. Collin and Brady belonged here and now, and Aidon didn't. But the memories of aches and bruises reminded me to be careful.

"Ells, you can tell me what happened. I won't tell a soul." Brady zipped his lips with his fingers and threw the imaginary key over his shoulders.

I almost giggled at his childishness. Then I remembered, "When you phase..." the words were quieter than the soft patter of rain on my skin.

"You have patrol sooner than I do. C'mon, Ells, let me help you. Please?" He put out his bottom lip and pouted.

I smiled slightly, the edges of my lips quirking up. I found myself forgetting his size while he acted in such a juvenile manner.

Brady settled himself on the ground, leaning up against the school and looking up at me.

"I fell asleep yesterday. Collin woke me up because he didn't know where I was. I was dreaming about a boy in the orphanage..." I trailed off, my eyes staring into nothing. I swallowed and continued. Getting this off my back would make me feel better. It had to make me feel better. "He used to beat me, because he thought pain was amusing and it made him feel better. I wasn't awake. Collin tried to touch me and I flinched away. I thought Aidon was coming for me. I needed to watch for him, so I could be ready when he found me. Collin's the same size as Aidon." I glanced at Brady, the unspoken words hung between us. Brady and Collin were roughly the same size and shape. "I couldn't bear it. I ran to the- my room. I didn't sleep." Tears poured down my cheeks to mix with the raindrops on my face and neck. "I'm so confused."

"Elly," Brady's face was deadly serious. "You need to talk to someone who can help you get over this. Your past is horrible, but you can't let it ruin your life."

I stared at my best friend. When had he turned into a psychologist? He was just a clueless boy, right?

"'Course, if you try to let it ruin your life, you're going to find I don't give up so easily," Brady was now smiling confidently.

"What would you do if I 'let it ruin my life'?"

"Haul you off to a psychologist." Brady flexed the muscles in one of his arms, "I'm plenty strong."

I hugged myself, rolling my eyes slightly. No matter what, boys were boys.

"You need sleep. Once you aren't tired you'll see; you can fight back and get better." Brady stood up and beckoned to me.

I stared at his retreating back. Brady always managed to walk right into the middle of the mess that was my life and make sense out of tangles of problems.

I have no idea what Brady said or did to get me out of school free, but it must have been big because I never had to make up the work I missed and none of the teachers ever tried to question me about it.

I have even less of an idea about what Brady said to Collin and my brother. Collin was going crazy, I knew from pure instinct. But having him around me complicated everything.

I still wasn't sure what was happening, where I was, when I was. Nothing made sense, except Brady said I needed to get sleep and I couldn't keep my eyes from sliding shut again and again.

When I woke up, I knew several things. One, Brady was the best friend in the world. Not that I would ever tell him; his head was too inflated already. Two, there was a part of me that would never recover from Aidon's attacks. That part was very hard to suppress. Three, I desperately needed someone to help me understand what I was supposed to do to make this better.

And I was not going to go tell all my secrets to a psychologist who had always had an easy life.

Brady vanished for the next several days. By vanished, I mean I didn't see him once and none of my other brothers had seen him either.

Embry vanished for most of those days too, but that was quickly becoming the norm for him.

The first time I saw Brady since he had left me to sleep after taking me out of school, was when I saw him in the school office, five days later. I had spent those five days in the woods, trying to work up the courage to go back to school and face my fears.

For some bizarre reason, Brady was picking up what looked like a schedule- for a junior. He was so intent on talking to the woman at the desk he hadn't noticed me enter.

"So if we can get this girl to agree, can he start today?" Brady wheedled. I stared at him, wondering what the heck was going on. Why did my brothers always, _always_ leave me in the dark?

The woman, Mrs. Cluptin, I think, sighed exasperatedly and nodded. Brady whooped and raced out of the office, still failing to notice me standing just inside the door.

I silently sent a prayer, to whoever might be listening, that Brady wasn't getting up to too much mischief.

I gave the paper to the woman; it was a note from Sam which said I was still weak and it was the doctor's orders so I should go home if I didn't feel up to school. Basically, it was a free pass from school if I couldn't stand being surrounded by people anymore. Sam wasn't _always_ a pain in the butt.

I made it through the day well enough. I still had to give myself constant reminders- Aidon belonged in the past and he was staying there. But lunch came faster than it had before, and the thirty minute lunch break was as much a relief as it was a pain.

I walked into the cafeteria by myself. The rest of the pack was already there, sitting at the designated pack table no one sat at unless specifically invited by one of my brothers. They did look like intimidating, horsing around as they consumed amounts of food almost as large as themselves.

I got a plate full of food- not nearly as much as the boys because I was only six feet and they were all larger- and slid into a seat across from Collin and Embry. Brady was MIA once again. Kim looked up from her place in Jared's arms to smile shyly at me. Kim was a shy sort, like me, and she was the only other girl to eat with the pack.

"Hands off," I muttered to Seth as he tried to slip one of my hot dogs onto his plate.

Seth gave me his pleading, wounded puppy-dog expression and I pulled my plate away from him only to have it preyed upon by Quil, on my other side. I ended up guarding my food with my arms and glaring at all my brothers at once.

Every second I looked at them I had to, forcefully, remind myself it was okay, there were idiots, but they weren't brutal idiots.

I was just getting the hang of eating with them once again when a hand tapped my shoulder. I flinched, not only was it the touch of human skin, but it was cold human skin that couldn't have belonged to any of the other pack-members.

Embry and Collin both started to growl at whoever was behind me. I gave them a look and turned around.

**A/N: Yes. It's short. But I'm working on the next chapter. Review and tell me what you think!**


	16. Kade!

**My New Life Chapter 16: Kade! **

**A/N: I have two stories I want to write, when I'm done with My New Life, and I want to know which you guys were like to read more. One about Brady and Karen (a girl who joins Kade's family at the end of My New Life) or one about Embry and GiGi (the girl he imprinted on)? You can vote on my profile or you can p.m. me. **

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. **

**Dedicated: to everyone who made suggestions- I mashed them all together and made a character. **

Standing behind me was a boy I recognize from life before La Push. He grinned at me making my stomach clench with surprise. It was Kade. No one else smiled like he did, his entire face scrunching up, one side of his mouth quirking more to the side than the other.

He used sign language to say, _Sorry. I didn't know how else to get your attention. Especially with all them -_he nodded to the rest of the pack- _around you._

I hadn't seen Kade in four years. Not since I was ten and he was thirteen. He'd been adopted just before he turned fourteen. And here he was, talking to me like it was yesterday we'd last chatted.

I leaped from my seat; it was easier to "talk" with Kade if our hands were on the same level.

_Kade! What are you doing here? _

Kade reached out as if to touch me, but he pulled his hand back. And then his long fingers were flying with glee, and I concentrated, trying to figure out what he was telling me.

_Your friend, Brady he said his name was, tracked me down and told me you needed my help. _

I glanced around and, sure enough, there was Brady. He was leaning against the table and eating the food on my tray. He grinned at me, a grin that was too innocent to be real.

"Brady," I whispered, "What the-"

"You're supposed to say 'thank so very much, Brady. I will be your slave forever.'" Brady corrected.

"You do know how worried your grandmother is, right?" Seth interrupted. Brady's grandmother was Seth's great-aunt, and she had been pestering Seth about where Brady was.

Brady replied, but I was no longer listening. I was paying attention to something else Kade was telling me.

_I was telling my parents about you and they decided to they wanted to adopt you. Only, when we went back to the orphanage you were gone along with everyone else. I've been in a bad temper ever since. _He blushed and his hands momentarily stopped moving. But when I just smiled his graceful fingers resumed their dancing, _Then your friend visited me and I convinced my parents to come here. __My dad found a job here on the rez and my mom found a house. We got here yesterday, but they insisted we spend the day resting and visiting with our hostess- we're staying with Brady and his grandmother until everything's set with our house. I can't believe how much you've changed!_ His hands moved so fast they were nearly a blur- no need to stop to breathe- but I still managed to keep up with what he was saying. Even though it had been so long, I remembered everything he had taught me.

_You've changed too. Definitely not the scared boy who stuck up for little terrified me. Who's we? _I felt like flying I was so happy. Everyone I cared about in the same town, safe and sound.

_My sister and me. _Kade's eyes lingered on the table of huge, glaring boys. Actually, most of the glaring was coming from Embry and Collin. The rest were mostly watching with a faintly curious air.

_I didn't know you had a sister. _I pointed out.

_Much as I would love to talk to you about everything, I think they're waiting for an introduction._ Kade nodded his head to the table behind me. Embry and Collin were both moving to stand up.

"Guys," I said it cautiously and quietly, "This is Kade."

Every single jaw at that table dropped to the floor. The only one who managed to keep herself from staring was Kim, who was too busy giggling at the expressions on my pack-brothers' faces.

"Wha? How- when- where-" Everyone was talking over everyone else, trying to be the loudest.

I glanced around us, briefly aware of the stares of the entire cafeteria.

Embry was standing and surveying Kade up and down, like he wasn't sure if Kade was safe enough to be around me when I looked back at our table.

"Embry," I muttered to him.

"Brady, does Sam know?" was the only thing Embry said.

Brady shook his head, "Sam nearly bit off my head when I tried to talk to him after I took Elly back to your place the other day. He gets testier every day. It's almost like the hormones are affecting him instead of Emily."

I chuckled and teased, "Too bad he didn't bite off your head. Then you wouldn't be able to talk."

Embry smirked, but Collin was studying me and Kade.

"This is my brother Embry-"

"Her older, half-brother." Embry corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "-and Sam is my oldest, half-brother, and guardian. Emily is his pregnant wife."

Kade nodded, having read my lips. _And the rest of these boys are your boyfriends? _

_Kade! Quit joking. Those are my other honorary brothers. _

_My rank of Honorary Brother is no longer such an honor. _As Kade said this he was glancing significantly at Paul and Quil, who were arm-wrestling and calling each other names, and at the rest of my brothers, all of whom were finishing eating huge amounts of food.

_They're boys. What can you expect? _

_Last time I checked, I'm a boy as well. _

_That's kinda my point. _

_Elly, you offend me. _

_You're welcome. Now let them tell you who they are. _The bell was ringing and all the other students in the cafeteria were racing off to class, but no one moved from our table.

"Guys, tell Kade your name."

"No 'please'?" Quil asked me, looking up and promptly losing the arm-wrestle. He muttered a swear. Quil always swore whenever Claire wasn't around, because he was afraid if he swore around her she would pick up the habit.

I gave him my best Beta stare. Quil stood up and offered his hand to Kade. "I'm Quil."

Seth popped out of his seat next, grinning at me, ecstatic I had found my friend. "I'm Seth. Elly's missed you a lot!"

_He knows you well. _

_He's one of my 'best buds' as Brady put it. _

Paul smirked at Kade, told him his name, and went back to wolfing down the rest of the food on his plate. Jared introduced himself and Kim right before they went off to their next class. Jake shook Kade's hand before telling me I had 'work' after school.

Collin was the last person to introduce himself to Kade, and he didn't look at Kade as he did it. Instead, he watched my face.

When Collin was done telling Kade his name, he told me, "Elly, if you want to go with Kade to talk, I'll tell Sam what's up, and tell Mrs. Cluptin you have to go home."

_Someone likes you. _Kade's fingers danced and I was immediately glad no one else there knew sign language.

I ignored Kade and said, "Thanks, Col. Tell Sam I'll talk to him after my..." I stumbled trying to find a word, "shift today."

Collin nodded, glanced at me one last time, and walked away. His brow was furrowed, but he still hurried so he could reach the classroom before the late bell rang.

I wondered how many times Collin, Brady, and Seth had skipped school for me. Maybe if I went to school everyday so would they.

"Ready to go?" Brady interrupted my train of thought.

I glanced at him, startled. "What about school?"

"Not important," Brady lead the way out of the school and into the parking lot.

I talked with Kade.

_Tell me about your family. _He demanded.

_You already met my family. Tell me about your family. _

_Do you work for... what was it... Jacob? _

_Yes. Your family? _

_Right. My mom's name is Tammy and my dad is Joshen. Mom is a photographer and Dad is a scientist. My sister is in college, but she's taking a year off to travel around the state. She's here right now and she's not leaving until we've settled in. _

Our conversation stopped when we got into the car; Kade was the only one of us who was legally old enough to drive (though that never stopped Brady) and he couldn't look at my hands or use his hands to converse when he was driving.

It only took a few minutes to get there and I spent the entire time sending Brady a we-need-to-talk glare. When the car stopped, I slid out and followed Brady and Kade up the house.

I had never actually been to Brady's house before and it was beautiful. There were all sorts of flowers in a garden in the front yard and the house itself was modest and a pretty shade of yellow.

Lucy Clearwater, who was working in her garden, pushed herself into standing position and came over to greet her grandson.

"Brady," she scolded, "Are you skipping school, again?"

"No, I'm taking a mental health day." Brady stooped down to give her a gentle hug.

"Oh, really?" Lucy asked, tilting her head back to look up at him. Her tone was skeptic- she had single-handedly raised Brady. Not much got past her, which was why she was the only non-imprint non-elder tribe member to have been told about the pack.

With a despairing sigh, she looked past Brady to me. "Hello, Elly. You feeling better?"

I darted a glance at Brady. I'd never met Lucy before so there was only one way she could have found out about my coma. Brady shrugged in reply.

I nodded.

"Hello, Kade." Lucy had her head turned to Kade so he could understand what she was saying, "Your family is eating lunch."

Brady's eyes brightened, "Thanks, Grandma," and he darted inside.

"Don't you dare eat all the food!" Lucy called after him.

There was no reply from Brady as Kade and I walked in the front door and into the kitchen. Sitting at the small table was a small family. The three of them were chatting and laughing, looking like one of the families you see in magazines- too perfect to be real.

The man was dark haired with skin several shades lighter than mine. He wasn't very tall- at six feet I was several inches taller than him, but he was thickly built and his hands looked like they worked hard.

His wife had red hair, green eyes, pale skin, and lots of freckles. She was wearing a cream colored sweater and khaki pants.

Their daughter had green-blue eyes and thin, light brown hair that fell in a sheet to her shoulders. She was much older than I had expected- she had to be at least twenty-three- and she was wearing ripped jeans and a pink t-shirt.

The daughter said, "And then, I kid you not, she asked me where she put the damn things!"

They were all laughing harder now and it didn't seem like they would be stopping anytime soon. But Kade just walked up to the table and tapped his mom on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled up at him.

"Kade! Sit down and eat some food." She stood and offered her chair to him, scanning his face for possible signs of fatigue or sickness.

I knew Kade's inability to talk or to hear was due to a childhood illness and he'd had many such sicknesses since, so it was understandable and comforting that his mother was so protective of him.

Kade ignored the proffered chair. _This is Elly. Elly, this is my mom, Tammy, and my dad, Joshen._

Joshen nodded a hello and Tammy smiled fondly at both of us. "Hello, Elly, it's so wonderful to finally meet you and see you in good health. Kade's told us so much about you."

"Most of it was even polite." Kade's sister stood up and smiled, showing she was joking.

_And this is my sister, Brandilynn Dawn. _

"Kade!" Brandilynn Dawn gave Kade's shoulder a smack and turned to me, "My name is Lynn. My idiot drunkard parents weren't using their tiny brains when they named me." She said it with an implied _no big deal_.

"Nice to meet you," I muttered under my breath, shifting my weight and hiding behind my hair.

"Huh. You are shy." Lynn said and continued, in reply to Kade's significant look, "Well? It's true."

Kade smiled and I knew I could never hate Lynn, no matter how little diplomacy she used.

Lynn would never be my close friend, that much was made obvious during the long lunch, but she was a friend of a friend. I could tolerate her, especially if it meant spending time with Kade.

Kade and I drifted away after the food was gone (this process was greatly sped up by Brady's presence or, more accurately, the presence of Brady's stomach). We ended up on a beach, still talking about everything that had happened since we'd seen each other last.

I explained everything since I'd gotten to La Push as best as I could, but I had to leave major parts out. I couldn't say anything at all about my three-day coma or my excessive amounts of time spent as a dog.

Instead I focused on trying to explain my rat's nest of feelings about Sam, Emily, Embry, my pack-brothers (though I just called them friends), and, most of all, Collin.

Kade was a very good listener- he'd always been; though he couldn't actually hear anything and had to read my lips. He also saved his question about life between the time he left and the time I arrived here until the end.

_How bad was it? _Was the only question he asked.

_Horrible. Aidon... _I started crying and couldn't continue.

Kade just sat and waited for the tears to end; he knew from experience anything he could do would make it that much worse.

I let out the pent up memories of the long months and years when I had no protector. I couldn't keep my hands still enough to form any sort of coherent sentence so I mouthed the words and Kade read my lips. I released the terrible pain of so many nights spent in the hospital with broken bones, the anguish of not having anywhere to turn, the desperate need for any kindness at all even a smile, the deep distrust of those same kindnesses.

I gave him all the memories and feelings I could never give my pack-mates. Kade understood; he had lived through my previous experiences with Aidon and he could deal with it. My pack-brothers would see the images in my mind and they would all- especially my brothers and Collin- run off to punish Aidon. They would never forget the vivid pain and fuzzy images that haunted me.

I felt so much better when I was done talking, it was like years had passed instead of hours.

But, I knew as soon as I regained awareness of our surroundings, too much time had passed. Tammy would be frantic about her fragile son and Collin and Sam would be desperate to know where I was.

The sky was entirely black, the rain was only a drizzle, and there was that silent, sleepy feeling of late night.

_What time is it? _I asked, wishing I had a watch.

Kade glanced down at his wrist. He had a watch. Of course he had a watch. _A little before midnight. _

Shit. Jake would be looking for me too, mad I had missed my turn patrolling.

_Sam's gonna be pissed. _That was the understatement of the year. _Jake too. _

_We probably should be getting back, then. Mom will be frantic with worry that I'm catching cold. _

We walked very quickly back to Brady's- why oh why hadn't we taken a car instead of walked?- then, once Kade was inside, I ran to Sam's at full supernatural speed.

I was there in a few seconds.

"Get out!" Sam's voice was commanding. Yelling, really.

"No! Elly said she would talk to you so this is where she'll come first. I need to know she's okay!" Collin.

"Out! All of you!" Sam again, sounding like he was about to explode.

"Sam, they can stay." Emily's soft, kind voice. "Elly will come here first, you know that, and they all have business with her. They aren't bothering me."

"You should be sleeping."

Emily's loving sigh was clearly audible.

I decided to go in before a fight erupted.

As soon as I stepped into the small house, the tension eased. Collin's tight face relaxed and he managed a half-smile half-grimace of apology. Jake was sprawled across the couch with Embry, both watching the TV with a little too much intensity. Sam stopped pacing and turned to me with a look that told me I was in trouble.

"You okay?" Collin broke the silence.

I nodded. "Much better."

Collin smiled the half-grimace again, walked past me to the door, and faded into the night. Going home, probably. He was going to be in trouble again.

Embry stood up next. "Later, Jake. The window in your room is open, Elly. You can slip in and Mom will never know." He walked passed me, but paused right next to me and whispered, "Don't you dare ever scare me like that again."

I nodded; Embry was worrying about me. That made me happy. It meant he cared.

Neither Jake nor Sam looked ready to go next. I stood there for a little while, just waiting, but I got bored quickly. Bored and exhausted with emotional strain.

"Well? How much trouble am I in?"

"You're grounded." Sam replied.

Jake and Emily both turned on him.

"Kade just got here! She can't be grounded!" Emily cried.

At the same time Jake said, "Elly needs to patrol!"

"I'm sorry, Sam. Really I am. But I was talking to Kade," My eyes darted between the three of them, "about a lot of personal stuff that only he understands." I added, quietly to myself, "I feel a lot better."

Sam studied me for a minute, frowned, and said I had to have every meal here with him and Emily unless I got specific permission from him.

Jake and I walked out together. I was expecting a speech about duty and everything, but he surprised me.

"I'm not a jailor. I'm not commanding you to do anything." Jake informed me upon seeing the expression on my face. "You have double patrol tomorrow. Oh, and Paul's pissed at you." Jake grinned at me.

"Thanks." I grumbled, not really angry, but definitely not happy Paul was out to get me.

My eyelids drooped and I made my way home through the rain before I fell asleep on my feet.

**A/N: What do you think? **


	17. Change is Wonderful

**My New Life Chapter 17: Change is Wonderful**

**A/N: Has anyone besides me ever questioned the sanity of putting hundreds of teenage kids in one building and subjecting them to the torture their teachers hand out? Because now that I am going to a new (and huge) high school, I am seriously doubting whatever forethought the person who created the first high school had.**

**Thanks again to everyone for your reviews and suggestions and whatnot. Please vote on my profile for whichever story you want me to write next. Because this one is almost done, just a few more minor events!**

I was almost to my window when Collin appeared out of the forest, giving me no warning whatsoever that he was nearby.

I jumped. "Collin!"

"Sorry," Collin looked immediately guilty.

I yawned and my eyelids slid shut before I forced them open again. I was still the tiniest bit edgy about Collin's large presence, but it was so much easier to accept that the past was the past and this was the present now I was no longer the only one who knew what had happened.

Collin's fingers touched my jaw and my eyes jerked wide open. I met his eyes (he was barely an inch taller than me), startled by the touch.

_**Collin's Point of View**_

Elly looked exhausted, but I needed to know what had happened. Not just at Sam's, but the entire day.

Elly was looking at the ground, her eyelids three-quarters shut.

Without thinking about the consequences, I slid my hand under her jaw and tilted her head up so I could look into her eyes and assess the situation.

It sounds stupid, I know, but our connection was so strong that often all I needed was to meet her gaze to know how she was doing or feeling.

Her big, deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes were beautiful. And not the least bit afraid.

She wasn't afraid. She wasn't afraid.

I had moved towards her, deliberately touched her, and she wasn't afraid!

My whoop of joy almost made it out of my throat before I stopped it. I could still scare her if I wasn't careful.

As soon as I was sure I had mastered the urge to shout with excitement, I opened my mouth. And closed it again as the words "I love you" nearly rolled off my tongue.

_**Elly's Point of View**_

Collin's ecstatic expression filled every inch of his face and he opened his mouth and closed it again. My eyebrows furrowed- what didn't he want to tell me?- but they smoothed when he leaned closer- very, very, slowly- and pressed his lips to my forehead and then my nose.

My chest rose and fell rapidly with my quick breaths, but Collin wasn't hurrying.

His mouth found mine and his free hand rested lightly on the small of my back. Collin kissed me delicately, like I was about to break. I hesitated, then lifted one hand and touched my palm to his cheek. I leaned into Collin, struggling with myself.

Collin only moved away from me when we were both very short on breath. Then he wrapped both of his arms around me and closed his eyes. I cuddled into his chest and laid my head on his shoulder.

Once again, his mouth opened and shut without him saying a thing.

Why wouldn't he just say whatever it was that was on his mind?

"You're okay?" He breathed the words into my ear, knowing that it wouldn't be good to wake Embry's mom. Especially since Embry wasn't in his bed right then, and she'd be sure to check once she was awake.

Collin's words prompted a nearly silent laugh to burst from my throat. Because I _was_ okay.

I said, "I'm-" and was cut off by a yawn so big it nearly cracked my jaw.

"Tired." Collin finished, though that wasn't what I had been trying to say. He hesitated, looking like he needed to say something, but didn't want to. "Do you love Kade?" The words that spilled out of his mouth came so quickly and were so unexpected it took me longer than usual to make sense of what he had said.

"Yes." I said and Collin's eyes fluttered shut. "But I love him as my brother. Just like Sam and Embry. And the other idiots."

Collin's eyes stayed closed, but he smiled.

"Thanks, Elly. I'll see you tomorrow."

Despite Collin's words, neither of us budged. I felt too safe in Collin's arms to ever want to leave. If just hugging him felt like this...

My mind wandered and it took me several tries to yank it out of the gutter long enough to listen to what he was whispering in my ear.

"... need sleep. School tomorrow and we have a big test in history. Mr. G said it counts for half of our grade." Even though I couldn't see him, I knew Collin was rolling his eyes.

In ninth grade, History was a mandatory subject and there was only one teacher who taught it- Mr. G. Mr. G was incredibly boring and incredibly fond of huge tests that involved so many dates it made my head spin. Why should I care which year it was that the first city was founded in England or the first pyramid finished in Egypt?

I kissed Collin's cheek and slipped in through my bedroom window. It was a tight fit and I had to squeeze to get my hips through, but it was better than trying to open the creaky front door without making a sound.

Once I was all the way in, I listened for any movement before sliding the window shut. It squeaked so loud I thought people in Nepal could hear it and I froze, my heart beating really fast.

I wasn't so much scared for myself- Ms. Call wasn't comfortable enough to talk to me, let alone punish me- but for my brother, who still wasn't home even though it was long past midnight now.

No one came charging down the hall and I fell asleep without any further incident.

I was awake and out of the house on time, which was a relief since I'd been so exhausted I could easily have slept through the entire day.

I ran to school through the forests- in human form, not wolf- and enjoyed the solitude and peace. All that was shattered the moment I stepped out of the woods and joined the group of boys in the parking lot.

"Hey, Ells!" Brady grinned a grin that made me fear for my life.

Paul turned to me and smirked. "Have fun last night?"

I closed my eyes for a split second as I remembered that Collin had had patrol early this morning. Wonderful.

"I don't know, Paul. Did you have fun?"

Paul's smirk vanished and a glare replaced it; Paul and Rachel were currently fighting about something or other and Rachel had banished Paul from the Blacks' property.

Brady ignored this discussion. "Ells, did you hear?"

"Umm... no. And I probably don't want to."

"Aww, c'mon. It's not bad news."

"With _that_ grin on your face? Yeah, right."

"Elly!"

"Now I know I really don't want to hear it."

"Elly, please."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please? Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Are you seriously fourteen?"

"Elly..." Brady paused, an exaggerated begging expression on his face. "Please?"

"Shut up!"

"Okay, so you know how you keep having those flashbacks? Well, I was talking to Lynn and she said that Kade had the same problem when he was first adopted. And they solved it by going to-"

"You are not dragging me in to see a shrink." My tone dared him to try at the same time it warned of mortal peril to anyone who did try.

Brady's expression turned crafty, like he was coming up with some way to get me to a shrink without dying. He really had issues with tenacity. Serious issues. First he goes through weeks of effort to find my honorary brother so I can talk to someone about my memories and then he risks death or worse to take me to a psychotherapist.

"Brady, you are going to be the one needing psychotherapy if you try and force me."

"What's he forcing you to do?" A warm voice- Collin's I realized with a happy thrill- said right behind me.

I turned my head to see that Collin was merely inches behind me, obviously having just arrived. I tried to smile at him, but Brady was making it hard.

"Don't you agree that Elly should see a psychotherapist about her flashbacks?" Brady tried to get Collin on his side. If he could get Collin to drag me there the plan would work because I'd never risk hurting Collin.

"Not if she doesn't want to." Collin's voice was hard as I turned back around to stick my tongue out at Brady.

Brady sighed dramatically. "One would think that you would want to help."

Inside the warning bell rang and the pack split up. I had history with Brady and Collin first period and I managed to get through the test without flunking it too badly.

Fourth period, Brady had science class with me and we were learning about the birth processes of different types of mammals.

The teacher was blathering on and on and I was tuning it all out, at least until Brady nudged me. I turned to him. He was desperately trying not to laugh, which meant he looked like he was having constipation.

I didn't understand what was so funny until I heard what the teacher was talking about. Embryos. Embry. The pictures he was showing were hilarious.

Brady raised his hand and, when he was called on, asked, "What does 'embryo' mean?"

The teacher looked impatiently up from his notes. After all, he'd just spent the last half an hour talking about embryos. "Embryo is a technical term meaning something that isn't developed or at a stage of development prior to birth."

I barely made it to the end of the class.

And then, just before the bell rang when I thought I would finally be free, assignments were handed out. We were supposed to work in pairs to write an essay on a scientific term. Brady and I were assigned the term "embryo". Seriously.

Once we were in the hallway, Brady and I just cracked up. I was laughing so hard that I had to lean back against someone's locker to keep from falling over.

Collin arrived and his eyebrows shot so high I thought they would take flight. I immediately moved to him, leaning on him instead of the poor locker. When we had finally explained what was so funny- it took forever because we couldn't stop laughing- Collin started laughing as well.

That night we were at Sam's for dinner. Everyone was there except Seth who was patrolling. Embry actually made an appearance, which was the first time I'd seen him since the night before despite the fact that we had the same lunch period at school.

Someone, I think it was Jared, shouted, "Embry!" when Embry didn't look up after the first couple times his name had been uttered.

For some reason this sent me over the edge. I accidentally met Brady's eyes and we were both gone. I was laughing so hard I had to brace myself against the table to keep from falling over. Brady and Collin, who was laughing just as hard, did the same. Everyone stared at us.

Just as we were getting over our laughing fit, I muttered to Brady, "Ready to work on our embryo essay?"

Brady grinned and said, "I haven't done any research."

"My brother." I gasped as I started laughing again, "nothing to research."

"You heard our teacher. It's a very serious subject." Brady said.

Collin added, for good measure, "Almost as serious as you two."

"What the he-" Embry quickly changed the word he was going to use when he caught Emily glaring at him, "heck is going on?"

"Nothing." Brady said.

"Embryo," I added, trying very hard to keep a straight face. Not possible.

"What?" Embry asked. I gulped in air, clutching at my belly.

Sam was trying to look serious, but his lips were still quirking up at the edges, "What are you three finding so hilarious?"

"School." Collin stuttered, not able to speak coherently because he was laughing so hard.

"Science class." Brady added.

"Essay on the terminology of the word 'embryo'." I managed to choke out.

Realization flashed across everyone's face. Including Embry's. Sam kept his face blank, though his lips were still curled up at the edges.

I clutched the table, trying to stop laughing. But I met Brady's eyes and the laughter continued. My best friend was getting me into sooo much trouble. I could see that much on Embry's face. But I didn't care; everyone was laughing now and I was having too much fun.

Once we stopped laughing, Brady, Collin, and I got assigned extra patrols. I didn't really mind, except all of my extra patrols were in the middle of the night, meaning I would have to sneak out, again.

**A/N: So, what do you all think? **


	18. Homework

**My New Life Chapter 18: Homework**

**A/N: ATTENTION EVERYONE! VOTE FOR THE NEXT STORY FOR ME TO WRITE! I WILL NOT UPDATE AGAIN UNTIL I HAVE AT LEAST TWO MORE VOTES. **

The punishment Embry persuaded Jacob into giving me was, of course, running extra patrols. So I ran all of Embry's patrols for a week. During that week, I saw him for all of three seconds.

Because I barely had enough time to go to school with all the extra patrols, my homework really piled up. On the weekend, after twelve solid hours of sleep, I decided to head over to Collin's with all my homework.

I decided to ignore the fact that Brady was in most of my classes while Collin was only in one of my classes. Homework wasn't the real point of this excursion.

It took me several minutes to muster up the courage to press the doorbell to Collin's house. It would be so much easier to just climb up the tree in the backyard and clamber in through Collin's window. But that would be wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong-

"Hello?" Connie opened the door and smiled when she saw me, "Come on in, Ell. Collin's up in his room."

"Elly." I corrected in a whisper, following her through the doorway.

Connie turned to me and smiled once more. Her eyes took in the amount of homework I was carrying and she seemed to change her mind- it was obvious my stay was not going to be a short one. "Why don't you and Collin do homework in the kitchen?"

Translation: why don't you spend your time with my son somewhere I can keep an eye on you?

Before I could reply, Kevin walked into the room. "Mom! It broke again!" He was carrying the TV remote and several little pieces that looked like they were supposed to be attached to the back. Kevin saw me, opened his mouth so wide I could see down his throat, and bellowed in a voice surprisingly loud for a little kid, "COLLIN! YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS HERE!"

The bellow was completely unnecessary because Collin already knew I was here- supernatural senses are cool like that.

I blushed, my skin turning a shade or two darker than it's normal russet. Where was Collin? Was he leaving me to flounder on purpose?

"You just had to announce it to the world, didn't you?" Oh, there he was.

"Tone, Collin." Connie reminded automatically.

"Hey, Elly. Ready to do homework?"

I turned to Collin and nodded.

"Why don't you two work on your homework in the kitchen?" Connie offered, again.

"Mom, if we do homework in the kitchen we'll get absolutely nothing done because Mr. Annoying over there won't leave the kitchen the entire time."

"Kevin wouldn't," Connie said, giving Kevin a meaningful stare.

Collin snorted and rolled his eyes. Then he went back up the stairs and came back with a armful of books. He led the way to the kitchen where we set our books down on the counter and pulled up two tall stools.

Connie, of course, came in and started to make cookies. Kevin followed her and, for the first twenty minutes, was absolutely silent. Then he gave up trying to be good.

"Collin and Elly sittin' in a tree," Kevin sang obnoxiously, smirking at us, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Kevin was unable to finish the song because Collin was holding him like a hostage, one hand over Kevin's mouth.

"Collin, no hurting your brother." Connie didn't even look up from the batch of cookies she was stirring,

"Did you hear what he was singing?" Collin's grip on his brother didn't change at all.

"Who is older and supposedly more mature?" Connie asked in reply.

"Gan't bweath!" came the garbled cry from under Collin's hand.

Collin, with a glare at his brother, let Kevin go.

"First comes love," Kevin sang as soon as his breath was back, "Then comes marriage, then comes Elly with a baby carriage!" Kevin finished the song with a hoot and a huge smirk.

Collin deliberately turned his back and faced his mother. "What did I tell you?"

"Fine," Connie let out a gusty sigh of defeat.

Collin scooped up all our books and led the way out of the kitchen, up the stairs, where we ran into his silent father, and into his room. I'd never been in Collin's room before and I was more than a little startled by the interior.

It was painted every imaginable shade of blue- baby blue, navy blue, sky blue, dark blue, green-blue, purple-blue... But what was even stranger was the matching sheets, curtains, dresser, and bookshelf.

Collin landed with a small thump on the (blue) recliner next to his (blue) bed and he set my stuff down on his (blue) desk which was already piled with his own junk.

"Feeling blue?" I teased, still standing next to the door.

"Mom wants to be an interior designer. Kevin's room is worse- it's pirate themed." Collin grinned lazily up at me. Without conscious thought, I grinned right back. "You can sit down if you want."

I shifted my weight uncomfortably. Sit down where?

Collin stood up, slipped his hands into mine and led me over to the recliner he had been sitting in. "Wait one minute," He said and slipped out of the room, returning with a chair for himself. While I watched, he set the chair down next to mine, shoved everything off his desk with a very loud thump, and dragged his desk so it sat in front of us.

We had just begun working on Geometry- though we weren't in the same class we were doing similar stuff- when Kevin made an appearance.

Kevin poked his head around the open door and hopped into the room. "Collin, you stole my light saber!"

"I don't have it."

"You do too!"

"No, I don't."

Kevin looked around for a few minutes then said, "Maybe it's in my room."

"Go look in your room then."

Kevin walked out again, only to pop his head back in, "Dad said that if you guys are talking or kissing or something I shouldn't interrupt. But Mom said if you are doing anything except homework I can feel free to bug you as much as I want."

"Oh, good." Collin's voice was tart and his poor Geometry book was receiving a death glare powerful enough to disintegrate it.

I leaned back into the soft cushion surface of the recliner and smiled to myself. Collin glanced up at me with a grimace, "Sorry about the idiot."

Something about his expression was so funny that I just had to laugh.

_**Collin's Point of View**_

The light, cascading laughter that emerged from Elly's throat when I apologized was captivating. It wasn't the loud, infectious laugh that she had when she was laughing so hard she cried, but the one she had, I realized, when she was laughing because of me.

My face turned red and I glanced down at the proofs I was supposed to be solving. I narrowed my eyes and thought hard. The explanation for the second statement was the property of... of... Ugh. Concentrate. Homework.

I looked up at Elly again. She was still laughing, her chest moving up and down gently with the rise and fall of the gentle noise.

For the first time that day, I noticed what she was wearing. Elly, the girl who never showed her arms or legs, was wearing a short sleeve t-shirt and long shorts.

"Collin!" Elly was laughing again, she'd obviously been trying to get my attention for several minutes.

"Yeah?" My lips twitched up as I met her large brown eyes.

She blinked and her long lashes cast slight shadows against the skin of her face.

"I _said _what's the difference between the Law of Detachment and the Law of Syllogism."

"Umm..." I said; she was still laughing and shaking her head so her curls flew everywhere.

Suddenly I had the urgent need to touch her, to make sure she was real and not a dream. My hand slid away from the proof I was supposed to be finishing and onto Elly's long fingered hand.

Elly didn't even twitch, her gaze flickering to our now intertwined hands for only a split second.

And then, before I could shut my freakin' mouth, I said, "I love you."

**A/N: So, what'd ya'll think? **


	19. Disaster and Dilemma

"I love you."

I stared at Collin. And stared. And stared.

He could not have said what I thought he had said.

It was just not possible.

Collin stared determinedly at his Geometry book, his eyes scanning the page too fast for him actually to be reading it.

I looked down at my lap. So, Collin had just told me he loved me. How was I supposed to feel about that? How did I feel about that?

I didn't know.

Everything was just so confusing.

I was pretty sure I loved him... sure enough so I wanted to walk over to him and cuddle in his warm arms.

But I couldn't.

Because then I would have to say it. I would have to say 'I love you too' and that would set it in stone, would make it permanent. I couldn't do that. I couldn't say something like that. How could I say that to someone when the marks of my past had just started to fade? They were by no means gone. They might never disappear.

Collin didn't- couldn't- know how much of my past affected my present. Collin couldn't know how impossible it was for me to accept his words, let alone return them.

My trance was abruptly ended by the sound of Collin standing up and walking to the opposite end of the room. He grabbed something in his hand and walked out. I heard his footsteps echo and then a door closed somewhere nearby. A sink turned on and beneath the sound of running water, I heard the sounds of someone crying.

I stood up, wildly grabbing my stuff, and fled the house. As I nearly ran down the stairs, Connie turned to look at me from the window she was cleaning. Her expression was bewildered and then, upon seeing my face, worried.

I couldn't even acknowledge her. There was just too much going through my head. Too much to process. Too much to think about. Too much.

I walked in the door of Embry's house, but as soon as I crossed the threshold I heard the yelling that meant Embry was home, fighting with his mom.

I turned around and ran to Seth's house. No one was there. I ran to Brady's house next. As my feet blurred and the modest home got closer and closer I nearly resorted to praying. Please let Brady be home. Please let Brady be home.

The only other place I could go was Sam's. That would be a disaster. Emily would be wonderful and gracious, but Sam would want to know what had happened and then, once he knew, would want to punish Collin.

I heard Brady's laugh as I slowed to a stop in front of the front door. Brady was right on the other side of the door, in the living room probably.

I raised my hand and made a hurried tapping noise that could almost pass for a knock.

"You don't have to knock, Elly, you know that by now." Brady's grandmother answered the door.

I nodded to her, but my eyes had flicked over her face and towards the room beyond her, searching for Brady.

"Elly!" Brady jumped up, his usual grin fading. "I thought you were doing homework with Collin."

My gut throbbed and my throat ached.

"Elly, shh." Brady lifted the books out of my arms and set them down on a nearby table. Then he guided me to his room. "Shh, why are you crying?"

I stared blankly at him. Crying? What was he talking about? Brady wiped my cheek and showed me his thumb- it was wet.

Upon realizing that I was crying, I started to sob. Tears poured down my face and my chest heaved with the effort of breathing.

I thumped down onto Brady's bed and closed my eyes, choking on the sobs that tore their way out of my throat.

"What happened?" Brady sat down next to me.

"I. M-made. C-collin. Cry." I wrapped my arms around myself and rocked back and forth, something I had done on numerous occasions in the past.

"I don't know what's wrong. I think something happened between her and Collin." Brady spoke to someone else.

Then a face swam into view in front of me. _Elly, are you okay? Did someone hurt you? _Kade looked ready to go kick someone's butt.

In my panic, I had forgotten my returned brother. _No. I hurt him, Kade. I hurt him. _

_How could you possibly have hurt him that badly?_

_He said he loved me. _

_Isn't that a good thing? You love him. I know you do. _

_But, Kade, I didn't respond. He waited and waited and I didn't say anything or do anything. And then he left. He went to the bathroom and I could hear him crying. I hurt him. I hurt him, Kade. _

_Why didn't you respond?_

Leave it to Kade. He knew why I hadn't responded, he knew what I felt, but he still forced me to say it. He knew that by saying it I'd be admitting it to myself.

_Because I'm so confused. I love him, but I'm scared to love him. I'm scared to have him love me. _

Kade left me alone after that. He knew me so well it was scary.

"Ells of the wells?"

I rolled my eyes at Brady. I wasn't crying that hard.

"I'm gonna be downstairs. If you need to soak someone's shirt all you have to do is whisper." Brady grinned at me. I watched him walk out of the room knowing he was making a joke about his serious offer. Oh, Brady.

After an hour or so, I had stopped crying. I hadn't really calmed down, I'd just stopped crying. My belly hurt, my heart ached, and I could barely breath. But I wasn't crying anymore.

There is always a silver lining.

_Yeah, right. _My inner self grumbled.

I shoved myself off Brady's bed and slouched into the crowded living room.

Brady's grandmother's cottage was comfortable for two or three people, not for seven.

"Hey, you hungry?" Brady asked, looking up from the table with a grin.

He was inhaling- sorry, eating- a grilled cheese and cheese was dripping out of the corners of his mouth like blood from a vampire's fangs. He looked about as scary as Dora the Explorer.

"Course." I forced my mouth to grin back at him.

_Elly, sit down here. _Kade stood up and offered me his chair, next to Brady.

I hugged him. How could everyone be so kind to me when I was so cruel to those I loved?

"You look awful," Lynn observed, her brown hair splashing onto a lime-green three-quarter sleeved shirt that made my eyes water it was so bright.

"Lynn, that's not polite," Tammy gently scolded her daughter.

I didn't care what Lynn thought.

_Thanks, Kade. But I can't take your seat. _

"Kade sit down." Lucy Clearwater interrupted before Kade could insist. "Elly, you sit here. I'll go make you some more food. I assume you eat like your brothers."

My eyes widened- of course Lucy knew about us being werewolves, but Kade and his family had no idea. I nodded, and evaluated Kade's expression. He didn't look as though he'd notice anything unusual. Good.

Of course, I managed to eat all the food she served me. It didn't matter how upset I was, I was still hungry. Brady, though, he ate at least twice what I did in about half the time it took me to eat.

"Can you even taste your food?"

"Do you know what color your hair is?" Brady retorted, "Course I can, Ells."

"And yet you inhale your food." Lynn observed, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm just awesome like that." Brady grinned at her.

Jeez. When wasn't he grinning? He might as well have a grin tattooed to his face.

"Smelly like that, too." I murmured to my plate of food.

"Hey! My room isn't nearly as bad as Paul's or Embry's."

"Embry's room is empty." I pointed out.

"Well, as Embry's used to be, back when he still spent time at home."

Which was before I arrived.

Brady looked guilty that he'd brought up the touchy subject of my brother.

Speaking of brothers, the phone rang half a second later. Lucy answered it and handed it to me.

"Hello?" I don't like phones. You can't see someone's expression over the telephone.

"Hey, Elly." Sam's voice sounded half-stern, half-amused. "Jake said you have patrol in a couple hours."

What was his point? I knew the patrol schedule.

"I was hoping you could come here for a little while. I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Bring Tammy and Joshen with you, will you?" Sam paused and then, "See you in a few minutes, Elly."

"Glad he asked if I was busy." I grumbled to Brady, who had been able to hear the whole conversation.

"Tammy, Sam wants me to go to his house, and he wants you to come too. Would you mind?" I asked, politely.

"Sure, dear." _Kade, your father and I are going to Sam's for a short while. Stay here and get some rest. _

_But, mom-_

_Don't worry about it, mom. I'll take good care of my little brother. _

_Lynn! _

_Let's go, Kade. It's nap-time._

_Brandilynn Dawn Brown! _Kade used Lynn's full name with an indignant expression.

"Let's leave before Lynn starts insisting Kade listen to a bedtime story," Tammy smiled at me, her eyes pools of warmth and love.

I couldn't imagine what it must be like for Kade to have a mom like her. He deserved a fantastic mom, though.

I followed Tammy and Joshen out to their car and got into the back seat. The trip to Sam's was silent, even with Tammy's attempts to get us involved in conversation. From what I've seen of him, Joshen doesn't talk much and I'm just plain shy.

When we got to Sam's, I let myself in without knocking. It occurred to me that, just a couple of months ago (had it really been that short a period of time?) I had been shocked when Embry hadn't knocked... life changes so quickly.

"Sam?" I peered into the kitchen- for the first time ever it was empty. The entire house seemed to be empty.

That was probably why I freaked out so badly when a voice right, literally right behind me said, "What happened with Collin, Elly?"

I whirled around, my heart pumping, my legs tensed to make a daring escape. Upon seeing the arched eyebrows over pale brown eyes that Sam and I shared thanks to our dad, I relaxed. "Don't do that, Sam. How did you know..." I gulped in a breath of air, "about Collin?"

"He showed up five hours early for work, in a wreck, and wouldn't go back to his house. He's working now, like the world's about to end." Sam's careful use of the word work, reminded me that Tammy and Joshen were just behind me, listening to every word.

"Come in and sit down," Sam said to Kade's parents, giving them his I'm-a-responsible-adult-who-knows-what-he's-doing smile. "If you're looking for Emily," Sam said as I started down the hallway towards their room, "she's at the doctor's right now."

"Oh." I turned around and followed Sam, Tammy, and Joshen into the living room of the small house. The three of them sat down in the chairs, leaving me to sit on the couch. The way they all looked at me, their chairs positioned to face me, reminded me eerily of a teacher meeting when you knew you were in huge trouble, though no one would say as much.

"We have something we'd like to talk to you about," Tammy started.

"And the decision is totally up to you, Elly," Sam said, "no pressure whatsoever."

That just made me more nervous.

Something huge was coming.

"We," Tammy continued, smiling wonderfully at me, "as a family, have made a decision. By we, I mean Kade, Lynn, Joshen, and myself. We would like you to become part of our family."

"You mean..." My voice was a whisper that trailed off into nothingness.

"We'd like to adopt you." Joshen spoke for the second time since I'd met him.

**A/N: Opinions anyone? Please remember to review and put me on Author Alert!**


	20. Decisions, Decisions

**My New Life Chapter 20: Decisions, Decisions**

**A/N: You guys are all going to hate me. I'll tell you why: this is the last chapter. I'm going to post a very short epilogue and then My New Life is done. **

**On another note, I posted a prologue for Embry's imprint story, called I Define Myself, a little while ago. If you haven't already, go check it out!**

**Unfortunately, ski season starts in literally two days so all my free time is going to disappear. Because of this, I'm going MIA for a while. BUT I will keep writing so I can give everyone at least one update for I Define Myself by Christmas. **

_We'd like to adopt you. We'd like to adopt you. We'd like to adopt you. We'd like to adopt you. _

Joshen's words played continuously in my head. I'm sure my jaw was open- I was stunned. I had not expected this. I barely even knew Tammy and Joshen! Sure, they were Kade's parents, but I hadn't seen Kade in years.

"You don't have to decide now, and we'll completely understand if you say no." Joshen continued, the words leaving his mouth slowly, like he didn't want to be parted from them.

"How- what- I don't-" I spluttered for several minutes before regaining control of my tongue, "My brothers- Sam, Embry, Brady, Seth, Paul, Jared, Jake, Quil..."

"Let me explain what would happen if you said yes." Tammy smiled at me, her eyes warm and comforting. "We are planning on staying here at least for the rest of Kade's high school career, though we hope we will be here longer. Joshen has a job at the National Park as a scientist, which is the perfect opportunity since he'd been looking around for a job more in his field. I have a job in Forks as one of the nurses for the little kids."

I smiled slightly- this woman was the idealistic nurse, especially for young children.

"Lynn, of course, won't be staying with us since she's going back to college next year. Kade loves the forest and the fresh air out here will be much better for him than the polluted air of cities and suburbs. If we adopt you, you'll be part of our family and live with us, but we would still want you to spend time with your brothers. Sam would give up his right as guardian to us, but he would still have a say in your life. Most of all, Kade would be your brother and we would be your parents."

This was an easy decision to make. Perhaps the easiest I'd ever made. The only difference between what they were suggesting and my current situation was I'd have a real home and parents of my own, instead of just brothers and their homes and parents.

There was only one thing I needed to be sure of first. Well, two, since I had two blood-brothers. "Sam?"

"Emily and I love you. That's never gonna change, Elly. This is for you to decide." Sam's voice was gruff- the only time he was good with emotion stuff was when it came to Emily.

"What's Emily's opinion?"

"She thinks you'd be happier, having a home. She thinks living with Embry's mom is awkward and stressful for you."

Emily. What a wonderful person to have as my sister-in-law.

"I want to talk to Embry."

Sam tossed me the phone and told me Embry's cell number.

_Bring-bring-bring-bring. _

"_Hello?" _A girl's voice answered the phone.

"Umm... is Embry there?"

"_Yeah. Hold on... Embry! Someone called for you!" _

"_You answered my cell?"_

"_Curiosity killed the cat, I know, I know." _The girl had to be Embry's imprint.

"_Hey," _Embry had taken the phone.

"Two things. One, who is she?"

"_What's the second thing?"_

"Kade's parents want to adopt me."

"_That's fantastic, Elly."_

"What should I do?"

"_Whatever you want to do. I'll see you tonight, okay?" _

"Bye, Embry."

It was only after I'd hung up the phone that I realized Embry had never told me who she was.

"Yes."

Tammy smiled and her eyes became pools of liquid honey; the corners of Joshen's lips twitched upwards which, as far as I could tell, was as close as he got to a smile.

As soon as we walked in the door, Kade leaped out of his seat. _How'd it go? What happened? What did you say? _

_Brother dearest, you need to relax before you stress yourself into another illness. _Lynn put one hand on one of his shoulders and, gently, pushed him down into the seat.

_You're my brother, Kade! _I grinned at him.

"Does anyone feel like telling me what's going on?" Brady asked.

"I got adopted," I told him.

"By who?"

"Brady, use your small brain."

"I beg pardon, my brain is so big it barely fits in my skull."

"Which would be why it is so out of proportion with the rest of your body."

Brady laughed, "It's good to see you so happy, Elly. We have to do something to celebrate. I know, a party at Sam and Emily's!"

"No."

Brady ignored my response and looked around for something. "Grandma, where's my phone?"

"Coffee table, under the sports magazine."

Brady found his phone and dialed a number. "'Sup, Seth?"

"_Hey, Brad." _Seth had this thing about giving everyone nicknames.

"Elly got adopted into Kade's family-"

"_Congrats, Elly!"_

"You just permanently damaged my eardrum," Brady moaned dramatically, "But, anyway, we're having a celebratory party at Sam and Emily's tonight. Spread the word?"

"_Sure, sure." _

"Great, I'll just call Sam and tell him about the party."

I snorted. Sam would just _love _that.

"Elly!" Emily enveloped me in a huge hug, kissing my cheek as she did so.

I smiled, it felt incredible to be able to touch her without having a panic attack. As she pulled away, I noticed Sam hovering just behind her. His gaze kept flickering down to her belly, which bulged slightly. Sam stepped forward, one large hand placed on Emily's shoulder and gave me an awkward, one-armed hug.

I was at Sam and Emily's and the guests would be arriving any minute now. There was enough food to feed an army, which wasn't quite enough for all my brothers, and the little house was as clean and pretty as always.

The door opened and one of my brothers walked in. I turned around to see who it was and my jaw dropped to the floor. Embry walked in, grinning at me, his expression absolutely ecstatic.

"Congratulations, Elly," his grin was larger than Seth's and Brady's combined, which was quite the feat.

I didn't want to ruin his joy, but... "Embry, who's the girl who answered your cell?"

Embry blushed and stammered, "Umm- no one. Just an acquaintance." His eyes darted around, searching wildly for a story.

"An acquaintance who teases you and who you tease in return, an acquaintance who answers your cell phone?"

"Um... yeah?"

"Who _is _she?"

"Acquaintance."

"Uh-huh."

"A sort-of friend."

"Sure."

Embry sighed and started to turn away, still grinning, rolling his eyes.

"And why are you here and so happy all of the sudden?" I demanded, following him so he couldn't escape.

"What is with the interrogation?"

"I'm curious, and I'm determined to figure out what is up with you before I move." And I wanted to keep my mind off Collin, whether he was coming, and what would happen if he did come. "Answer."

Emily giggled behind me. "You better obey her, Embry, before she pulls rank on you."

"I'm here cause there's a party to celebrate your adoption. I'm just happy for you."

"So you're ecstatic that I got adopted?"

Embry heaved a huge sigh though he was still smiling. "Promise you'll keep this to yourself, at least for a while?"

My eyes widened- he was actually going to tell me something! "Promise."

Embry leaned in close to me and breathed into my ear, "I kissed her."

I guess I was high with happiness. Or maybe I was just a little feeling a little touchy-feely. But I wrapped my arms around my brother and kissed his cheek. "That's amazing." I meant it- I knew how incredible it was to finally kiss your imprint. "I love you, Embry."

Embry stiffened for a moment then wrapped his arms around me and replied, "Love you too, Elly."

I let go of Embry and turned to face the rest of my brothers, most of whom had walked in while I talked to Embry.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the last person to enter. He was standing next to the door, his wet eyes on Embry. He was subtly straining against the hand that was clamped to his arm. Brady was trying to drag Collin into the gathering, but Collin was turning away.

"Collin, you said you'd give it a go." Brady muttered.

"I came. I can't handle it, Brady. Let me go."

"Collin, you'll feel better if you just-"

"Brady, I'm one hundred percent positive that I know how I feel." Collin's voice was choked up and his breath hitched.

Brady pulled Collin into the group of people, ignoring Collin's tears.

"Elly? Elly?" Lynn waved her hand in front of my face. "Earth to Elly? _Hola! Salve!_"

"Sorry."

I spent the next several hours talking, laughing, and distracting myself.

I couldn't help but notice that Collin sat in the corner the entire time.

"Food's ready!" Rachel came out of the kitchen, where she and Kim had been working away.

Sam had only agreed to the party with the condition that Emily would not cook anything.

Everyone swarmed the buffet table. Everyone except Collin, who slipped out the door as soon as Brady was distracted.

Instinctually, I moved to follow him. I was stopped by a little, clinging monkey on my leg. I looked to down to find Claire grinning up at me.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Bathroom," I lied.

"Lying! Elly is lying!" Claire said it in a sing-song voice, her eyes wide.

"One of my friends needs my help."

"Oh. Are you coming back?"

"Yes, Claire. I'll be right back." I glanced back at the door. I needed to follow Collin and apologize.

"Claire! Where's Claire?" Quil's panicked voice rang clearly over the din.

"Quilly can't find Claire!" Claire giggled, squeezing my leg harder.

"Claire," Quil ran over and exhaled with relief as he bent down and swept the little girl into his arms.

I side-stepped the two of them and slipped out the door. Behind me I heard Claire ask. "Why is Elly leaving, Quilly?"

I glanced around and darted into the woods, following the pull in my gut. Rain drops fell in my hair and wetted my face. I brushed my curly, soaking locks out of my eyes as I peered into the darkness I advanced through. I found Collin very quickly. He was sitting on a log, crushed twigs piled in front of him. His face was wet, though I couldn't tell whether he was crying or not because of the rain.

"Col?" My voice broke, though it was just a whisper.

Collin whipped his head around. When he saw me, he whipped his hand up and wiped the tears from his face. Bravely, in a wavering voice, he said, "Oh, hey, Elly. Congratulations on getting adopted."

He attempted a smile, which held for a millisecond before sliding into a painful grimace.

I sat down next to him. "I can't believe myself," I growled, anger building up inside me. What had I done to him? Why was I always, always hurting him?

Collin turned his torso to stare at me. I don't think he'd ever heard me truly angry before.

I leaped to my feet and paced, trying to subdue the large, curly wolf inside me. My long legs thrust me across the small space between the dense trees in two easy strides.

"El- Elly?"

"I can't believe myself!" I repeated, my voice getting louder, "I just can't stop, can I?"

"Stop?" Collin was bewildered.

I faced away from him, leaning my face into the bark of an old tree. "Hurting you," I explained, "I hurt you earlier today, and I've hurt you almost constantly before that."

"Elly. The only possible way for you to hurt me is if-"

"I leave you," I interrupted in a whisper, still so angry at myself it wouldn't even take a shove to send me into a phasing fury. "I love you, Col. I love you and I hurt you."

"Oh, Elly," Collin came up behind me. He wrapped his arms around me, holding my back to his chest. I could feel his chest heaving against me. He was silent, either laughing or crying, I couldn't tell which.

"I'm sorry," I turned around and wove my arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry, too." Collin hugged me tightly.

I stepped back and offered him my hand. He took it and we walked back into the party together.

A/N: What'd ya think?


	21. Epilogue

**My New Life: Epilogue**

I sat in the truck bed and watched as Collin, Seth, and Brady each carried a cardboard box towards me. The three boxes held all my belongings. The only things I owned were the things Emily had bought for me.

"Elly, these boxes are way too light," Brady lifted his with one hand, raising it over his head. He frowned at me and the box crashed onto his head.

"Yeah, Ells, we need to remedy this!" Seth grinned infectiously at me, his eyes lighting up. "You might even have to go shopping with us!"

Brady gasped, wide-eyed. "Elly might even have to have her own belongings! Oh no!"

"Brady," I mumbled, giving him a look while I tried not to smile.

"My mom would be delighted to have a new project," Collin teased, grinning at me.

"No thanks. I'll manage on my own."

The boys finished loading everything into the back. Collin and I sat in the truck bed, Brady got into the passenger seat, and Seth got into the driver's seat. Of all of us, he was the closest to getting his license.

As the wind whipped past us, Collin watched me, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Col," I reached my hand out to him. I met his eyes as our hands slid together.

"You excited?"

I bit my lip.

"They love you. They'll be your family. Kade's already your brother."

"Thanks, Col."

"I love you." Collin used his free hand to caress my cheek.

"Love you, too." I slid into Collin's hold, pressing my lips to his.

**A/N: Ta-daa! Everyone please, please read I Define Myself- a story I'm writing about Embry and his imprint. **

**- Mythical Words -**


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